Brazil VP wants his country to acquire A bomb

By calling for the development of an atomic bomb, Brazil's vice-president proves that the reluctance of the nuclear weapons states to dismantle their arsenals continues to provide an impetus for nuclear proliferation.

In a recent interview, José Alencar, who has also served as the Brazilian defense minister from 2004-2006, said that his country does not have a nuclear weapons program, but that it should start one.

"A nuclear weapon used as dissuasive instrument is of great significance for a country that has 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles) of borders in the west and has a territorial sea and, now, there's this pre-salt sea with an area of 4 million square kilometers (1.54 million square miles)," said Alencar, according to a September 25 report in the journal Brazzil Magazine.

Pointing to the recent oil discoveries in the resource-rich South American state, he said "This stirs international greed. Now everything is all right, but we don't know what tomorrow will bring. It costs a lot, but readiness is costly."

He recalled that India and Pakistan, despite being in a state of conflict, do not start wars against each other and prefer negotiated settlements because they both possess nuclear weapons.

Alencar, who is also the acting president while the country's president Lula is visiting the United States on official duties, including participation in the Pittsburg G20 summit, was speaking to Brazilian reporters, did point out, however, that his comments were personal opinions and not a position of the government.

Nevertehless, he noted “"We, Brazilian, sometimes are too laid-back. We master the nuclear energy technology, but nobody here has the drive to advance in this field. We have to go forward in this matter.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a spokesman for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
also said that Alencar's "comments do not reflect the position of the government." The vice-president is not a member of the ruling party.

Although Alencar was not officially speaking on behalf of the Brazilian government, his comments startled many as they were made on the very same day that the UN Security Council passed a measure aimed at eliminating nuclear weapons.

While years have passed since most nuclear-armed states signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), none of them have fully dismantled their atomic arsenal, despite their treaty obligations to do so.

The United States still maintains a stockpile of around 9,960 active nuclear warheads. Russia retains 13,000, while the United Kingdom France and China continue to store 185, 300, and 349 respectively.

This is while non-NPT states such as Israel, India, Pakistan are known to possess dozens of nuclear weapons each, with North Korea a recent member of the nuclear weapons club with a smaller arsenal.