Saudi Prince Calls for Kingdom to Acquire WMDs

So much for peace in the Middle East.

On 5 December Prince bin Turki al Faisal, speaking at the “The Gulf and the Globe” conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh urged the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to become a powerful regional bloc by establishing a unified armed force and defense structure.

While bin Turki’s call for the GCC to pool its military resources is nothing new, his idea of supporting Gulf countries acquiring weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) if Israel and Iran do not constrain their nuclear programs represents the edge of a precipitously slippery slope.

Bin Turki told his audience, “Why shouldn’t we commence the building of a unified military force, with a clear chain of command. But, if our efforts and the efforts of the world community fail to bring about the dismantling of the Israeli arsenal of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and preventing Iran from acquiring the same, then why shouldn’t we at least study seriously all available options, including acquiring WMDs, so that our future generations will not blame us for neglecting any courses of action that will keep looming dangers away from us.”

Why?

Because Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran insists is completely devoted to the generation of civilian nuclear power, is incipient, but subjected to increasing international pressure in the form of increased U.S. and Israeli-led international sanctions.

Israel, on the other hand, is a de facto nuclear power, despite Tel Aviv’s self professed policy of nuclear ambiguity.

The two programs cannot be reconciled, so, taking bin Turki’s statements to their logical conclusion, the GCC will eventually move towards a WMD capacity, which, in this case, means a nuclear capability.

Bin Turki’s comments should not be dismissed lightly.

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