The Middle East Nuclear Problem

A Hypothetical Scenario

US and Israeli intelligence detect a nuclear weapons shipment set to depart Pakistan for Saudi Arabia in several days. The nations of Iran and Iraq already possess nuclear weapons. The spread of nuclear weapons creates a greater chance that war could escalate to a level of destruction never before seen, through accidental launch or a regional conflict spiraling out of control. Logic suggests that more widespread possession of nuclear weapons increases the likelihood of their use. For this reason, efforts at non-proliferation by the international community are an important factor in maintaining world stability. Still, some nations continue to seek nuclear weapons for deterrence purposes in order to maintain a means of monumental destruction against an enemy in the event their conventional forces are overrun. Because the Saudis fear the radical tendencies, strong militaries, and nuclear weapons of Iran and Iraq, it is driven to pursue nuclear weapons. For Israel, it fears the Saudis, as well as Iran and Iraq, because of their arsenal of ballistic missiles that could deliver weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In the next five days, Israeli action against the Saudis to prevent their acquirement of nuclear weapons could spark a regional war, with other Arab states and Iran using it as an opportunity to strike at their arch nemesis.