i guess since Brazil has the ability to
build a nuclear weapon, they are now on our "to invade" list.
Brazil has the world's fifth-largest known natural reserves of uranium, and the plant at the center of the controversy, in Resende, 100 miles northwest of here, would allow it to join a select group of about a dozen nations that produce enriched uranium. Both the plant and the enrichment program are partly operated and controlled by the Brazilian Navy, and therefore are considered to have possible civilian and military applications.
Brazil's official position, as expressed by Defense Minister José Viegas this year, is that it deserves a "dignified and differentiated" treatment, recognizing that it is not a rogue state and that its nuclear program exists exclusively for peaceful purposes. But arms control analysts in the United States and Europe have rejected that approach.
"If we give Brasília a pass at the same time that we are bearing down on Tehran, it not only will send exactly the wrong message to would-be proliferators, but will sharply diminish any prospects for success with Iran," Brent Scowcroft, a former United States national security adviser, wrote in June in an essay in The Washington Post.
there comes a time when we have to ask ourselves, are we stopping nuclear proliferation or perpetuating it? too soon, every major industrialized nation in the world will acquire nuclear weapons because it is neccessary for their countries survival. otherwise they will have no bargaining power.
we invaded iraq on the grounds that saddam was building the bomb (which was a lie). meanwhile the rest of the world is in fact doing just that. i don't think we will invade any of these nations because the stakes are too high. no sane person wants a nuclear confrontation. that said, i don't think bush is sane.
update:
for some insight into Brazil's economy and its desire to have a real voice in world affairs, check out this piece from the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Brazil wants to be a player, and having the bomb would help get them on the security council. i'm not saying they will for sure build nuclear weapons, but it seems the next logical step.