The Likelihood of an Arm Reductions Treaty in the Middle East
On April 11, 1996, representatives from 43 African nations signed the African nuclear-weapons-free zone treaty. This historic event set the stage for the African continent to become the fifth geographic region to be declared a zone free of nuclear weapons. However, the road to the signing of the treaty was not an easy one, stretching over a period of more than 35 years of work by African countries.
Among the original signatories was Egypt, which is a key player in efforts to create a similar zone in the Middle East, and Libya, one of the countries of greatest proliferation concern. In delivering the keynote address at the signing ceremony, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hailed the treaty and called for an effort to conclude a similar agreement banning nuclear, biological and chemical weapons from the Middle East.
On the same day, the Department of Defense (DOD) released its first annual report on the global dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and its efforts to combat the threat through its Defense Counterproliferation Initiative. The publication, titled Proliferation: Threat and Response, discussed the major threats to United States security from WMDs and outlined the range of the Pentagon's response to those threats.
Significantly, the study identified the Middle East and North Africa as the regions of highest proliferation concern because of the range of WMDs being developed or acquired by several countries. The report listed Iran as attempting to acquire "a full range of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons" and expanding its ballistic missile programs with the goal of establishing indigenous missile production. It also reported that Iraq has preserved enough of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs for it to revitalize efforts once UN sanctions are lifted and inspections ease or are terminated. The report a...