: Nuclear Dominos In Middle East Topple: Will Israel Follow?

A series of events of the past week has led to a dramatically different military landscape in the Middle East – one that promises to leave the entire region (with one notable exception) verifiably free of nuclear weapons. Most stunning was the declaration of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi of an immediate cessation of all WMD programs with subsequent inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which followed Iran’s agreement to strict spot inspections by the same agency. Iran followed up its decision to stand down its nuclear program with an admission that rogue Pakistani nuclear officials sold nuclear secrets to Iran, which left the Pakistani government scrambling for excuses and reassurances of secure nuclear assets. Bush is sure to take credit for the domino effect given Gaddafi’s admission that the outcome of the Iraq war was a factor in his decision, but it also follows a pattern in recent years of Libyan efforts to be a good boy – negotiating the freedom of hostages in the Phillipines and settling the Lockerbie bombing. Skeptics will, of course, note that the US and UK didn’t have to resort to war to elminate real WMDs, as opposed to fighting a war in Iraq to eliminate non-existent WMDs. In addition, the nuclear cleansing of the Mideast will result in all eyes falling on Israel’s considerable undeclared nuclear arsenal, and calls for it to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are already beginning – although the official US position of looking the other way will officially not change.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.