Rice questions why Saudi might need nuclear energy http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-12-15T203818Z_01_WAT006752_RTRUKOC_0_US-NUCLEAR-GULF-RICE.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C1-TopStories-newsOne-1
Fri Dec 15, 2006
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday questioned why oil-rich Saudi Arabia might want nuclear power and said she wanted to know more about plans by Gulf states to study nuclear energy.
"I'd like to know more about it and I think it's something that we should have discussions (about)," Rice told Reuters when asked about the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) decision to study a possible joint civil atomic program.
"I think one would have to wonder about the need of some states for nuclear power given their own energy resources," she added. "It's one thing for a state to be running out of natural gas in 34 years, which is the case of Egypt, it is quite another for the state to be the most oil-rich state in the world, "she added in a reference to Saudi Arabia.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.