December 23, 2006

The Middle East Nuclear Arms Race

Try to see it their way... For example, "Bickering Saudis" have their own ideological struggles:
“Iran has become more dangerous than Israel itself,” said Sheik Musa bin Abdulaziz, editor of the magazine Al Salafi, who describes himself as a moderate Salafi, a fundamentalist Muslim movement. “The Iranian revolution has come to renew the Persian presence in the region. This is the real clash of civilizations.”

Many here say a showdown with Iran is inevitable. After several years of a thaw in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Saudis are growing concerned that Iran may build a nuclear bomb and become the de facto superpower in the region.

In recent weeks, the Saudis, with other Persian Gulf countries, have announced plans to develop peaceful nuclear power.
Emphasis mine. So now we have a Middle East arms race: if Israel and Iran can do it, they are all thinking, why can't we?

And Condi Rice says no one should mourn the passing of the "old Middle East" because "it was going to burn down anyway, one of these days."

I wonder if a nuclear Armaggeddon is what she had in mind?

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