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How Iranian Nukes Would Reshape the Middle East

[Slate] Lee Smith - An Iranian nuclear program would rearrange the region's political, economic, and cultural furniture. If Iran gets the bomb, other regional powers will pursue nuclear programs - if they are not already doing so. Inevitably in a region as volatile as this, there will be a few small-scale nuclear catastrophes, probably rulers targeting their own people. Saddam gassed the Kurds and slaughtered the Shiites, Hafez Assad massacred the Sunnis of Hama, and mass graves throughout the region testify to the willingness of Arab rulers to kill their own people - in their hands, a nuclear weapon is merely an upgrade in repressive technology. An Islamic bomb is concrete evidence that Iran's strategy of "resistance" to the West is a winning one. And this will change the region's political culture from radical to many times more radical. At best, this means that even U.S.-friendly regimes will have no choice but to raise the pitch of their anti-American rhetoric to stay in step with their rivals. Consequently, the basing rights that we have throughout the Gulf states are likely to be terminated. At worst, an Iranian bomb sends a message to the more ambitious actors in the region that they should feel free to make a run at the Americans.
2009-10-13 06:00:00
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