鈥淩ADIATION didn鈥檛 do me any harm,鈥� smiled Bertrand Goldschmidt, who ran
France鈥檚 nuclear policy for over 20 years. He is 90 years old and still fit
enough to walk to the restaurant to meet me for lunch. Goldschmidt is the last
man alive to have been hired by Marie Curie.
鈥淚 agree,鈥� said Akbar Etamad, who was the Shah of Iran鈥檚 nuclear adviser. He
looks well under 60, but refuses to talk about his age.
We were eating in a Paris restaurant as I started to research a film about
nuclear terror. As a psychologist, I鈥檝e always been interested in why we fight;
as a journalist I鈥檝e always been interested in the hidden deals. These two
venerable gentlemen helped broker the deals which made sure non-proliferation
was non-effective (just what their masters wanted). And some of them have
fascinating tales to tell.
Advertisement
Before de Gaulle became president in 1959, Goldschmidt worked for a French
prime minister 鈥渨ho said that he was proudest of having made sure Israel got the
bomb鈥�. Some 2000 French experts helped make this happen.
Over the Tournedos Rossini, more confessions by the ancients. I learned why
dirt-poor Gabon, a former French colony in Africa, has an expensive railway
system with high-tech tunnels. The railway was built to ferry uranium as part of
a deal between France and Iran鈥攁 deal partly brokered by my lunch
companions, Goldschmidt and Etamad.
Iran invested $1 billion in France鈥檚 nuclear facility at Pierrelatte
in exchange for 10 per cent of the enriched uranium produced. Peaceful uses
only鈥攇uaranteed in triplicate, of course. When Khomeini booted
out the Shah, it all went poire-shaped, as they say in French nuclear
circles.
The French refused to hand over enriched uranium to the man who called
America the Great Satan, but Khomeini took his revenge. Paris suffered a number
of terrorist incidents. Like George Besse, who founded Pierrelatte, nearly all
those killed were linked to the deal. The French government said the murders
were the work of crazed Islamic fundamentalists. In fact, they were
well-targeted warnings.
The deal and the diplomacy weren鈥檛 sorted out till just before the 1988
French elections. In 1999, Paris was astonished when President Khameny of Iran,
on an unofficial visit, paid his respects at the tomb of Marie Curie. He left a
red rose. A nice symbol, Goldschmidt and Etamad grinned at the lunch table.
Despite Khomeini, Iran got its enriched uranium.
One secret we are all after is whether Saddam has the bomb. The positively
juvenile (a mere 60) Khadir Hamza was head of Saddam鈥檚 nuclear programme until
he fled because he wanted to keep his head in touch with the rest of his body.
When he offered to help the CIA, they helpfully suggested he go back to
Baghdad.
Hamza revealed the wiliness of the 鈥淏east of Baghdad鈥�. To confuse the nuclear
inspectors, Saddam placed some of his best nuclear scientists in a lunatic
asylum. He was sure no one would suspect Iraq鈥檚 nuclear programme was being run
from there.
The nuclear game has fascinated power brokers since 1945. Sadly too many
still want to play.