Arms Race - Update
Earlier today I linked an article that described remarks made by the son of Hosni Mubarak, Gamal, about Egypt wanting to pursue nuclear power - a euphemism for pursuing nuclear weapons. To all but the totally dim, that is. Well guess what. It ain't just Egypt. Even if the hand-wringing American and European leftists can't figure out what Iran is doing, their neighbors sure as heck can.
As Iran tries to buy time in its dispute with the international community over its nuclear program, the Arab world's interest in atomic energy is apparently growing.
The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdul Rahman al Attiyah, recently called on the "Arab nation" to work "together on a nuclear program," to prevent being left behind as others in the region — namely Iran, which is Persian and sometimes at odds with its neighbors — pushed ahead with atomic research.
Attiyah's call points to a shift in policy. Arab governments in the past have criticized both Iran's nuclear ambitions and Israel's (officially nonexistent) atomic program, while arguing for a nuclear-free Middle East and swearing off plans to pursue the bomb.
Of course, Attiyah and other Arab leaders say they want nuclear power only for civilian purposes — but so does Iran's controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The mere suggestion of "nuclear cooperation at an Arab level" therefore raises fears in the West of an arms race.
These are countries where people right now are calling for the death of the Pope over a few words he spoke. Ask yourself: what would we be hearing if some of these people had access to nuclear weapons? Would the Vatican already be renamed from "Vatican City" to "Vatican Crater"? The West better get it through their heads real quick that Mad Mahmoud is touching off a nuclear arms race. And that the odds of a civilization ending event will increase exponentially. The so called Doomsday Clock needs a recalibration. The odds of a nuclear war just went asymptotic.
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Freedoms Zone — Thursday, 21 September , 2006 @ 7:39 am
By old_dawg, Wednesday, 20 September , 2006 @ 8:42 pm
I am thrilled by the prospect of more Islamic maniacs having nukes. And it is now 6 days to “Nukes for Ramadan” day.
By Christopher Fahey, Saturday, 23 September , 2006 @ 10:38 am
Thank God Bush is working as hard as he can to bring peace and cooperation between the people and nations of the Middle East, and increasing their love and respect for the USA and for western democratic values.