person:charles ebinger

  • IPS – Israeli Licence to Cheney-Linked Energy Firm on Golan Heights Raises Eyebrows | Inter Press Service
    http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/02/israeli-licence-to-cheney-linke-energy-firm-on-golan-heights-raises-eyebrow

    Le timing du feu vert d’Israël à l’exploitation du pétrole sur le Golan http://seenthis.net/messages/116183, qui ne doit rien au hasard, obéit à une démarche éprouvée.

    It (...) comes a month before Obama is scheduled to make his first visit to Israel as president.

    Some analysts here compared the move to previous announcements by the Netanyahu government of new settlement construction on the West Bank or East Jerusalem — either on the eve of or during meetings with top U.S. officials – that have clearly contributed to thinly veiled tensions that exist between the two leaders.

    The administration remained tight-lipped about the move Friday, confining itself only to issuing a terse statement by the State Department acknowledging the press reports about the licence.

    “We intend to discuss this issue with the Israeli Government,” it said.

    “I wouldn’t be surprised if this is part of Netanyahu’s plan to put additional pressure on the U.S., as he’s done with President Obama in the past,” Charles Ebinger, an energy and Middle expert at the Brookings Institutions, told IPS. “He keeps changing the facts on the ground through expansion of settlements and now this on the Golan.

    “He keeps taking these actions, whether with the Palestinians or the Syrians. It makes it more and more difficult for the Arabs to come to the table,” he added. “It’s definitely contrary to international law and goes against any number of U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

  • ‘Kingdom’s nuclear quest faces major obstacles’ | Jordan Times
    http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=42048

    Très intéressant compte rendu d’un rapport de la Brookings Institution à propos de la politique jordanienne de se doter d’une centrale nucléaire à l’horizon 2020. Curieusement, cependant, les réticences des voisins et des parrains américains à ce programme ne sont pas évoquées.

    In addition to finances and expertise, the report raised smaller, more practical concerns regarding the feasibility of the Kingdom’s nuclear drive.

    With the construction of a 1,000 megawatt (MW) reactor, nearly one-sixth of the Kingdom’s electricity supply will come from one source, well above the international limit of 10 per cent and leaving the national grid susceptible to collapse should the plant go offline. “Unless Jordan plans to link with a broader Gulf grid, it simply makes no sense to build a 1,000MW reactor for internal use,” Ebinger said.

    [...]

    The study also notes the emergence of local protests against the nuclear programme, indicating that the rise in regional civic activity inspired by the Arab Spring has highlighted the need for energy officials in Amman to improve outreach to the general public.

    “There has been a little too cavalier attitude that this is a government decision and that the public needs to be informed and not consulted,” said Ebinger. “I think we would argue forcibly: You cannot have enough public consultation for these programmes.”

    Et quelles relations avec les révolutions arabes :

    “With all the turmoil in the region there is a growing perception that money needs to be diverted from these programmes to support pressing social issues,” said Charles Ebinger, director of Brookings’ Energy Security Initiative and an author of the report.

    While increased civic activity on the Arab street may slow national nuclear programmes, another by-product of the Arab Spring - higher oil prices - may aid them, according to the study.

    Pour lire le rapport original : http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2011/0927_middle_east_nuclear_ebinger_banks.aspx

    #JOrdanie
    #centrale_nucléaire
    #révolutions_arabes
    #énergie