Iran’s bragging about joining the nuclear club and how they’re way past the point of no return. Syria’s delivering SCUD missiles to Hezbollah that can be tipped with chemical weapons and putting the region on the brink of war. And Gaza Palestinians is risking another war over their rocket fire, one in which Iran has indicated they’ll take quite the interest. So it’s as good a time as any to describe the myriad ways a nuclear war could break out in the Middle East in the near and medium term, including the really neat one where Israel’s digs in for long term cold war and their efforts to avoid conflict cause Iran to think they’re preparing to attack. Reassuring!
We’ll start talking about that and more in just a very few moments, when One Jerusalem Radio’s TOCS goes on the air. As always you can tune in live either by going to the main show page or by heading over to the episode page. The switchboard and chatroom will be open for comments and questions, and today’s mostly news stuff so there will be plenty of time for listeners to jump in.
Official blurb:
Omri covers an array of recent proliferation news, from the advisability of Obama’s new nuclear posture to the prospects for nuclear escalation during the next Middle East war. The last few weeks have seen a flurry of domestic and international nuclear developments. The Department of Defense issued their quadrennial Nuclear Posture Review, outlining a sweeping No First Use policy that formally limits America’s ability to deploy our most powerful weapons. An updated START treaty was signed with Russia and is now heading into the Senate under a cloud of uncertainty. President Obama is currently holding a summit that may end up further constraining how Western nations can field their nuclear assets. But – inexorably – on the other side of the globe in the Middle East nuclear dynamics are unfolding at their own page. News segments focus on these controversies and more, including an analysis of how nuclear weapons might come into play the next time Israel battles its genocidal regional adversaries.
The call with diplomacy and media specialist Dan Diker this week is turned over almost entirely to what’s happening on Israel’s northern border: is Syria suiting up for a non-conventional war and, if they’re not, can Iran force them to activate their chemical arsenal anyway? Good times.
References and related after the jump…
References:
* Iranian official: We’re month away from joining ‘nuclear club’ [YNet]
* Ahmadinejad: Iran ‘Way Past’ Point of No Return [A7]
* Syria is shipping Scud missiles to Hezbollah [Ha'aretz]
* Barak: Syria-Lebanon arms transfer violates UN resolutions [JPost]
* Mortar shells fired at Israel land in Gaza, injure 6 Palestinians [Ha'aretz]
* Iran’s president warns Israel against new offensive on Gaza [Xinhua]
* Nukes And Gambits [TOCS]
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* TOCS
* Israel
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