Today’s Middle East non-starter: the elimination of nuclear weapons from the region!
Given that only Israel has nuclear weapons at present, and has shown zero interest in either conventional peace talks or giving up WMD, it’s difficult to understand what anyone expects to accomplish at yet another non-proliferation conference.
In many way, the Copenhagen Syndrome of these surreal efforts comes down to this:
1) As in Copenhagen with climate change, the US isn’t really serious about non-proliferation. If we were, then we’d be compelling India, Pakistan, and Israel to join the IAEA inspections regime, and allowing inspectors to have a look at our own arsenal.
2) The US isn’t about to put any pressure on Israel in an election year, or frankly in any year. There’s zero domestic political gain in taking the Israelis on, whether in “talks about talks” or in “talks about talks about treaties”.
3) Deterrence has a very fungible definition. Applied to “great powers”, it means having enough destructive power to convince one’s enemies not to attack. Applied to the Middle East, it means keeping one friendly power nuclear and hoping no one else anywhere in the region either notices or responds.
Gorilla says: “Hard to be hostile to your captors when you’re the one who arranged the kidnapping!”
Tags: Copenhagen, Middle East, non-proliferation