The Israelis are convinced that Iran would not be stopped by negotiations or sanctions. Israel’s national security establishment is not there yet, but some Israeli experts maintain that if a preemptive military strike is ruled out, Israel would have to reconsider its nuclear policy in order to enhances dramatically the effects of its deterrence through the lifting, perhaps selectively, of some of the secrets of its nuclear capabilities. After all, some say, if the worst case scenario materializes and Iran becomes an openly genocidal nuclear power, Israel would anyway have to get out of the closet if an effective balance of fear is to be maintained between the two countries.
By abandoning ambiguity and taking its own bomb out of the “basement” Israel might still be able to affirm more convincingly its deterrence and, more importantly, enhance a serious debate about the urgency of a Nuclear Free Zone in the Middle East.
Shlomo Ben Ami, Executive Vice-President, Toledo International Center for Peace (CITpax). Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel
This paper was presented to the regional meeting (Cairo, 29-30.9.2009) of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament
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