Putin Can't Have his Yellowcake and Eat it too: We Must Stop Russia from Getting its Hands on Australian Uranium
Filed under: Russia
Although Russia is a land of vast mineral resources, it doesn't have sufficient uranium deposits to power its nuclear industry. Therefore, it must import uranium from abroad, and this gives the world a significant point of leverage over the course of Russia's political development, offsetting any influence Russia has based on its oil and gas resources.
Next month, Russian "President" Vladimir Putin will travel to Australia in order to lobby for a huge new deal to purchase "yellowcake" uranium (like that pictured above) down under. Opposition politician Garry Kasparov, investigative journalist Grigory Pasko and attorney Robert Amsterdam are already there, sounding the warning call to Australian politicians that they should not go forward with the deal unless serious conditions and restrictions are imposed.
As Kasparov states: "Should Australian uranium end up in the wrong hands - and it's not too far-fetched to suggest that Russia under Putin is already in the wrong hands - Australia will not be able to act innocent or to claim ignorance." Kasparov warns that the Kremlin cannot be trusted to use Australian uranium purely for domestic peaceful purposes, as is Australia's requirement, and it's equally clear that Russia is unable to safeguard the material it receives from falling into the hands of terrorists. Kasparov warns: "You can only be confident that the Kremlin will look out for itself, that they have zero obedience to the rule of law and that all sales are final."
The U.S. must take immediate and dramatic action to prevent Russia from obtaining any source of ready supply of uranium in the Western world without making radical changes in its system of governance. If we don't seize the initiative, we'll suffer the consequences of an ever-expanding Russian nuclear threat. It's very plain that Russia intends to renew the cold war, and can't field a credible conventional military. Nukes are its only option, and we control its ability to get them. History is watching our leaders and will judge them severely if they fail us.
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