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Tolerance of Iran’s nuke program spurs neighbors to pursue their own
From Geostrategy-Direct...
Iran’s success in flouting the will of the international community by continuing its nuclear weapons program is giving similar ideas to several countries in the Middle East, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
I want one, too....
The "international community" has will? When did that start?
Leading U.S. analysts warn the Bush administration that Egypt and Saudi Arabia - both of which have declared their commitment to a nuclear-free Middle East - would probably join Iran as nuclear weapons states during the next few years. These countries would be motivated by the emerging threats from Iran and the rivalry of India and Pakistan.
That way they can assure their annhilation is complete. Hell, they are all neighbors so a missile flight is only a few minutes.
"If Iran joins Israel as a de facto nuclear-weapon state, with three other nuclear-weapon states nearby - Russia, India and Pakistan - it is very unlikely that other nations in the vicinity will be able to resist launching or accelerating their own nuclear weapons programs," stated a report.
"It is not at all inconceivable that a Middle East with four, five or six nuclear-weapon states, including Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will be the reality of the early 21st Century," stated the report authored by Kenneth Weisbode of the Atlantic Council and James Goodby of the Brookings Institution.
In October 2003, Saudi Arabia concluded a nuclear cooperation accord with Pakistan, according to Western intelligence and Israeli officials. The accord calls for Islamabad to provide a nuclear umbrella over the Arabian Peninsula as part of a new Saudi strategy that seeks to decrease its dependence on the United States.
Decrease their dependence upon the US in favor of Pakistan? There is some brilliant strategic thinking.
Analysts said Pakistan could upgrade the Saudi arsenal of up to 60 Chinese-origin CSS-2 Dong Feng 3A ballistic missiles secretly bought in the mid-1980s. The missiles have nuclear capability and have a range of up to 3,000 kilometers. What’s worse is that the regimes of Egypt and Saudi Arabia are vulnerable to a hostile Islamic takeover.
Understatement of the week.
This gives a nuclear Egypt or Saudi Arabia an even more menacing aspect, the analysts warn.
If the world is going to be dependendant upon ME oil, we better develop some techniques for oil production in radioactively hot areas. These guys are mad. Mo in Libya may have been daffy, but he saw the handwriting on the wall and adapted to the new reality. I see pilgrimages to Mecca with people in radiation suits, if there is anyone left over there.
Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-03-18
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=28470