The Middle East And The Growing Desire For Nuclear Weaponry

It seems like the prospect of Iran reaching a nuclear deal with the international community has caused quite a stir in Middle East. According to reports, now the Saudis want a nuke, and who better to ask it from than Pakistan.

“Saudi Arabia is widely believed to have bankrolled the Pakistani nuclear weapons program. In exchange, Riyadh reportedly expects Islamabad to provide missiles in times of trouble to defend the kingdom,” reported RT.

To Saudis the time has come- the fear that one day Iran may be able to create a nuclear bomb has been realized by the deal that has been reached with the West.

A Volatile Middle East?

The Middle East is one of the most volatile regions on earth, add a nuke to Al-Saud and the results would be catastrophic for the entire world.

Al-Saud, or “the House of Saud”, are the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. The family is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz Ibn Saud as King Salman now rules the nation.

Unfortunately, they do not possess the assured durability to have a nuke. By durability, I mean unanswered questions like who guarantees that Al-Saud will remain in power for aeons to come. If they get their much talked about nuke, in good time, say 10 or 20 years later, the people will get weary with a regime that provides so little in terms of civil liberties.  If a revolution were to occur, who would you think would come to power? A Wahhabi or a Liberal? I would stake my money on a Wahhabi successor. These ultra-conservative, orthodox Muslims are appealed by the idea of war, given that “The Wahhabi mentality asserts that Islam may be reformed by means of the sword.”

Wahhabis portray the radical form of Islam, and sadly they form the general public in Saudi Arabia. Sure, Al Saud are in control now, but what happens if they are overpowered? They will be rendered helpless to the Wahhabis, whom would then possess the most destructible force on earth: a nuclear bomb.

Nuclear Armageddon?

Did you know that according to Business Insider, a declassified document shared by nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein shows what the scientists at the Los Alamos laboratory/test site concluded in 1945- that it would require only around the neighborhood of 10 to 100 super nukes to put the human race in peril?

As reported by the Arms Control Association, the United States alone has in total about 4,800 nuclear warheads, including tactical, strategic, and non-deployed weapons.

So, imagine how many times over the US can destroy the earth with nuclear weapons?

Nuclear Disarmament of All Middle Eastern Countries

Israel is well known to possess nuclear weapons, according to the Arms Control Association, they have between 80-100 nuclear warheads, which they think keeps them safe from hostile nations. However, there should be a nuclear disarmament of all Middle Eastern countries, and Israel should be included in the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The treaty is described as “a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.”

Recently, Egypt has raised tensions in the UN by trying to reach a regional, legally binding agreement to create a nuclear-free zone that all Middle East states must abide by, including Israel.

However the agreement fell through, and the US stating that Egypt set “unrealistic” conditions. How is their proposal unrealistic, I wonder?

Israel being the only nuclear power in the region, it makes other unfriendly countries (which surround its every border) want to become a nuclear powerhouse as well. By doing so they would even up the power balance that is necessary for peace. So in order to ultimately gain peace, should we create five more nuclear-capable countries in the region? Or, more logically speaking, do we dismantle the only one that has nuclear capability?

Edited by Kari Mageed.