Israeli Nuclear Weapons and Western Hypocrisy

[Purveyor]

Once again, Arab states have announced that this year they will submit a resolution at September’s general assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to force Israel to sign the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and open up its secretive military nuclear programme to international inspections. Amr Moussa, secretary general of the 22-nation League of Arab States, has sent a letter to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to ask him to support the resolution entitled “Israel's Nuclear Capabilities.” Currently, Sweden holds the European Union’s rotating presidency. Other letters have been sent to the other 26 EU member countries. The Arab resolution is expected to be put up for a vote at the IAEA general assembly.

The Arab nations consider Israel’s rejection to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the main obstacle to global nuclear disarmament. “What compounds the problem is that the nuclear non-proliferation regime has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of Arab public opinion because of the perceived double-standards concerning Israel, the only state in the region outside the NPT and known to possess nuclear weapons,” former IAEA director Mohamed Al Baradei wrote. Arab diplomats point to a chronic imbalance of power in the Middle East caused by Israeli nuclear weapons and say that this situation breeds instability.

“It is essential that Israel comply with international resolutions,” Mohammed Sobeih, the assistant secretary general in charge of Palestinian affairs, told reporters in Cairo. “Everyone knows that Israel possesses weapons of mass destruction which could reach as far as 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and all Arab capitals are within this range," Sobeih added. Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, agreed. “The existing Israeli nuclear capability is the most dangerous strategic threat to Gulf security in the short and medium term,” he said at a conference organized by the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies.

Israel is one of the few states in the world that have refused to sign the NPT and is reportedly the only state in the Middle East having nuclear weapons. Israel has maintained a policy known as a “nuclear ambiguity” and neither confirms nor denies the possession of these weapons. The main rationale for this policy is to deny Israel’s Muslim neighbors the argument for developing their own nuclear deterrent.

That policy was, however, shaken in December 2006 when then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged Israel's possession of nuclear weapons in an interview with a German TV channel. Previously, during 1991 Gulf War, Israel threatened a nuclear attack on Iraq if this country put chemical or biological warheads on their Scud missiles fired at Israel.

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http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/08/27/israeli-nuclear-weapons-and-western-hypo

[bemildred]

1. ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Abstract

This paper is a history of the Israeli nuclear weapons program drawn from a review of unclassified sources. Israel began its search for nuclear weapons at the inception of the state in 1948. As payment for Israeli participation in the Suez Crisis of 1956, France provided nuclear expertise and constructed a reactor complex for Israel at Dimona capable of large-scale plutonium production and reprocessing. The United States discovered the facility by 1958 and it was a subject of continual discussions between American presidents and Israeli prime ministers. Israel used delay and deception to at first keep the United States at bay, and later used the nuclear option as a bargaining chip for a consistent American conventional arms supply. After French disengagement in the early 1960s, Israel progressed on its own, including through several covert operations, to project completion. Before the 1967 Six-Day War, they felt their nuclear facility threatened and reportedly assembled several nuclear devices. By the 1973 Yom Kippur War Israel had a number of sophisticated nuclear bombs, deployed them, and considered using them. The Arabs may have limited their war aims because of their knowledge of the Israeli nuclear weapons. Israel has most probably conducted several nuclear bomb tests. They have continued to modernize and vertically proliferate and are now one of the world's larger nuclear powers. Using “bomb in the basement” nuclear opacity, Israel has been able to use its arsenal as a deterrent to the Arab world while not technically violating American nonproliferation requirements.

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/farr.htm

[Howardx]

2. interesting

"Amr Moussa, secretary general of the 22-nation League of Arab States, has sent a letter to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to ask him to support the resolution entitled “Israel's Nuclear Capabilities.” Currently, Sweden holds the European Union’s rotating presidency. Other letters have been sent to the other 26 EU member countries. The Arab resolution is expected to be put up for a vote at the IAEA general assembly."

suddenly all the pressure on sweden makes more sense

[bemildred]

3. Maybe. An interesting coincidence anyway.

"Never assume malice where incompetence will do the job."

Not the brightest move, if the intent is what you suggest.

[Hippo_Tron]

4. It's impossible to have a practical nuclear policy that isn't hypocritical

The fact is that it's bad for the security of the world if nuclear weapons fall into too many hands. But they are, at the same time, an extremely useful deterrent against wars. Reconciling those two is basically impossible right now. Maybe some day somebody will figure out a way to do it, though.

[proteus_lives]

5. Good point.

I think if there was no nukes, there would have been a WWIII and WWIV by now. But increased proliferation increases the chances of nukes falling into unstable hands. It is a important question.

It's understandable why Israel would want them though.