There is only one way to compel Israel to dismantle its nuclear arsenal, which is that the Arab countries should start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, forcing the United States and the international community to intervene and render the region free of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) Anything else would be delusional. The Western countries are cohorts of Israel, which stole enriched uranium from the United States and yet, no one was charged or put on trial as a result. It follows from the above- which is entirely correct above all else-, that Israel shall continue to be a threat hanging over the heads of Arabs and Muslims everywhere, with its nuclear weapons and missiles. Arab countries must therefore follow Iran's suit, publicly and explicitly, in attempting to acquire nuclear weapons, not for their own sake, but rather to push the United States and Israel's other guardians to actually seek to rid the Middle East of all WMDs, instead of only issuing periodic official statements that mean nothing. Iran claims that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, but I do not believe that. Nonetheless, I do indeed hope that Iran is lying, that its nuclear program indeed has military purposes, and that it will surprise Israel and the whole world and succeed. In such a situation, the Arab countries have strong reasons to launch their own nuclear programs, which can be individual programs in large countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, or joint programs in smaller countries. Israel has never acknowledged that it has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons, while Iran will never abandon its program. While the United States and the international community focus on Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons, but rather a limited scope nuclear program, they turn a blind eye to Israel. What are the Arab countries doing exactly, faced with the very real Israeli nuclear bomb, and the upcoming Iranian bomb? They are doing nothing that will really lead to countering either threat. The WikiLeaks documents, if correct, confirm that there is no Arab plan in place to prevent falling between Israel's nuclear rock and Iran's nuclear hard place. I once wrote in this column that Saudi Arabia will never allow Israeli warplanes to cross its airspace to attack Iran. I still strongly maintain this position, and leave it up to the readers to hold me accountable for it if war happens (I have with some readers another wager that Mahmoud Abbas will not concede one iota of rights in the negotiations). With regard to Bahrain, I dare say that my knowledge of King Hamad bin Isa is better, deeper and older than any visiting Western politician or resident diplomat might have. What I heard from him and from the Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa is that if a war is to erupt with Iran, “we will pay the price”, and if an accord is reached with Iran, then “the accord will be against us”. My discussions with officials in Bahrain were thus about which option is less costly, war or an accord with Iran that is against us, and whether there is another option that is “cheaper” than either one. If I were to summarize in a nutshell what I heard from officials from the Gulf, especially as I meet foreign ministers year after year on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, it would be that I did not notice any unified opinion or position regarding the Iranian nuclear program. Everyone seems to not want Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb, but without having a general agreement. I understand very well the causes of Arab concern regarding the Iranian nuclear program, and I blame this on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose actions and deeds cause concern among both nearby and faraway nations. However, this does not mean at all that there is an alliance between the Arabs and Israel against Iran. When a colleague read an excerpt from a Western editorial that said something to that effect, my response was that this would be “blasphemy”. It was not a Freudian slip, as I was speaking directly before the camera. I said the word and I meant it, because any Arab alliance should instead be directed against Israel, which murders, destroys, occupies and threatens the Haram al-Sharif. I write while being aware that this will not please many. However, I insist that Ahmadinejad and his policies will be a footnote in Arab-Iranian relations. On the other hand, Israel is an ongoing colonial enterprise on the land of Palestine. There are Israeli crimes taking place on a daily basis, like a “daily dish”, which might be the demolition of a building and the dispossession of its inhabitants, the murder of a woman, or the arrest of some children in the neighborhood of Silwan and their torture in the cellars of Israeli intelligence. Israel wants to impose its hegemony over our region, from the Nile to the Euphrates. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said that gentiles are there to serve the Jews. If we continue treading the same path we are now on, then the day will come when we shall export our daughters as maids to Israel, instead of importing them from the Far East (to torture them). [email protected]
