Qatar: ‘largest radioactive store in Mid East’ 17, August 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in American ME Relations, Qatar.Tags: Depleated uranium waste, Depleted uranium weapons, Largest ammunition store in middle east, Qatar, Qatar ammunition storage, Qatar radioactive store
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An environmental NGO has charged that the U.S. military is turning Qatar into the largest store of radioactive waste in the Middle East. They also note that Qatar houses the largest ammunition store outwith America.
Depleted uranium weapons, empty shells casings and uranium ‘infected’ detritus from various battle fields are, it alleges, being stored in vast quantities in Qatar, and elsewhere. Whilst depleted uranium shells etc may technically be ‘radioactive waste’, it is hardly tantamount to the usual connotations of the term.
Additionally, in a slightly shrill article, Khalid Al Hjri, the group’s Chairman, warns that the Gulf region as a whole could be subject to a “nuclear disaster” because of the nuclear powered ships that the U.S. has floating around the region. Again, technically true, I suppose. But what’s the alternative? All such U.S. ships to leave? Would the Gulf countries be safer with an Iranian ‘umbrella’?
The Gulf blog 