The next arms race

BushCo caused a lot of consternation with their tacit support of India's nuclear weapons program, and Pakistan's revelation that they, too, have nuclear capabilities stoked fears of a new nuclear arms race in that region of the globe.

Now, with Iran working on their program, Egypt is beginning to show signs of their own ambitions of nuclear proliferation.


As a child in the eighties, I remember living at a time when nuclear war was seen as a very real possibility. It isn't something that people talk about now, but the US is abandoning efforts to contain the former Soviet Union's nuclear materials and efforts to keep nuclear scientists from going to work for countries like Iran and Egypt. I'm guessing the brinkmanship of two superpowers with massive nuclear arsenals is nothing compared to the uncertainty and fear that a dozen small, unpredictable states similarly armed would create. Unfortunately, our leadership is turning a blind eye at this critical time, trying to wiggle out of arms control treaties and making deals to share nuclear technology instead of working toward containment.