U.S. Declassifies Israel’s Nuclear Program
In a sudden revelation, the secretive nuclear program of Israel has been formally recognized and revealed to the world. More surprising than the report’s contents are the circumstance and perpetrators of its disclosure. In what many analysts are calling a serious breach in Israeli security, United States President Barack Obama declassified a report detailing Israel’s nuclear abilities and aspirations from the late ’80s.
The U.S. report, “Critical Technological Assessment in Israel and NATO Nations,” outlines Israel’s 1987 plans to build a hydrogen bomb. The report claims that Israel’s advanced nuclear capabilities, in some instances, are comparable to the Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge National laboratories, some of the key sites in America’s nuclear program.
The timing of the release, February 12, is suspicious. Many are calling it a preemptive attack from the White House ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in March.
While White House officials claim that Israel had no objections to the declassification, the emancipated information and circumstances surrounding its release couldn’t come at a worse time for the Middle East—Israel in particular.
The timing gets more suspect though. As mentioned, the report was released only weeks before the Israeli elections and just before Netanyahu spoke before the U.S. congress, warning of the dangers of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal. The speech marked a historic low in Washington-Jerusalem relations. The security-compromising report is just one more poke in the eye to Israel courtesy of its pivotal geopolitical partner.
Furthermore, the information exposes the anti-Israel nature of the move. The report was an assessment of Israel and nato nations. However, only the information about Israel was released. Washington chose not to release any information on the nuclear programs of Italy, France, Germany or other nato countries. It exposed only Israel.
The move is more than just a reckless move to tarnish a once-strong relationship. The move empowers Israel’s enemies and increases the risk of nuclear proliferation.
Israel’s tactic of neither confirming nor denying ensured no enemy could ascertain the threat of Israel’s program. Keeping it vague lowered the risk of sparking a nuclear arms race. Consider Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal’s statement about Iran’s nuclear aspirations: Whatever Iran gets, the Saudis will pursue the same. Considering the long-standing hatred between Israel and its Arabic neighbors, it isn’t hard to imagine that more Middle Eastern countries would take a similar stance in regards to Israel’s nuclear program.
Because of the released report, Israel’s enemies now have a gauge of Israel’s capabilities—and a benchmark for their own nuclear aspirations.
Adding to this volatile concoction is the report exposing Israel’s nuclear capabilities. This has major implications on any future peace plans between Israel and its neighbors. What if the Middle East goes nuclear? Disarmament would be impossible. The Arabs have always called for Israel to disarm its nuclear program. If other nations were to disarm, Israel would be called upon to do the same. The Palestinians in particular have always called on Israel to mothball its nuclear program.
The U.S. has jeopardized stability in the Middle East by exposing the power of Israel. When the program was hazy, it was less of a target for Israel’s neighbors. Now its capabilities are on display, throwing more fuel on the Middle East powder keg.
In an ideal world nobody would have nuclear weapons. But in a Middle East on the verge of mass nuclear proliferation, Israel’s nukes are one of the few defenses that stand between the Israeli people and nuclear-armed enemies calling for its annihilation.
President Obama’s use of Israel’s security as something to throw around in his tit-for-tat relationship with Netanyahu is reckless policy. The immediate implications are a further abandonment of the U.S.-Israel relationship. The long-term ramifications are just as devastating.
Read Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s article “Iran Gets a Stranglehold on the Middle East” for more on where the region is headed.
Keep your eyes on the Middle East. With Iran’s aggressive foreign policies and nuclear aspirations, the coming months and years are set to shake this world like no conflict ever has.