It would seem that Syria has acted on a perception of the international community which was in no way a realistic view. It is possible that in its current situation, Syria believed that the only way to remain a sovereign power in the region was to continue its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and thus has been acting in a similar fashion to Iran. In Syria’s perception, building a nuclear weapons program may appear to be the most readily available way of preserving their existence and security. “Given that Syria is suicidally pursuing WMDs” this would seem like folly, but it has been observed in the recent past that rogue states which attempt to develop nuclear weapons ultimately profit, either through economic incentives, or from operating under the cover of fear in the international community that they may use such a device if antagonized, or the possibility of them passing such materials or devices on to non-state actors such as Al-Qaeda.
With the new developments linking Iran, North Korea, and Syria in efforts to establish programs to create nuclear weapons, it seems even less likely that the peace conference of the Middle East States will make any headway, assuming that with current tensions within the region such a conference can still take place. “It seems odd to include Syria in this conference, given current circumstances. The US just green-lighted an attack on a rogue nuclear facility in Syria.” However, it is interesting that the advantage of intelligence information and preemptive action has tilted further back towards Israel and the United States. But, there is another possibility which must not be overlooked. With the Western powers united against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, the increased pressure on the Middle East as a whole may force the parties to come to better terms. It is unlikely that this will come to pass in the near future because support from Western powers will be based on proof provided by Israel and/or the United States that Syria and North Korea were cooperating to create a nuclear Syria. (A more sinister relationship in the image on the right)
1 comment:
Hey I really enjoyed your post; I like the tone which you have taken. It feels more investigative and you are attempting to ponder something rather than blast one side for their actions. In the over all layout of the post I would recommend clarifying with a title of some kind the comment on someone's post from your intro to the 2 comments. The links all work great and lead the reader to the right places. The spacing is a little funny from the top of your post to the bottom but it is not a big deal in attempting to read/understand the post. The blogs you replied to seem like strong blogs and your insight will be appreciated. In your post you say "in Syria's perception building a nuclear weapons program may appear to be the most readily available way of preserving their existence and security." Do you think this nation having a fear of losing its sovereignty and feels nuclear arms are the answer is a little unfair? What do you think we should do to alleviate their fear and at the same time alleviate the fear of the world of another country with nuclear weapons?
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