The Middle East is one of the regions of the world that have faced serious political instability. The region plays host to significant historic antagonist states of the world, which are Palestine, Israel and Iran. These countries have had endless geographical disagreements which often result in wars. The war between these states has been a key contributor to the unrest witnessed in the Middle East. This is because the war takes different dimensions, for instance, religious affiliations. The Muslim extremists have quite often come out strong in support of Palestinians. This, therefore, called for increased protection of Israel by the International Community. This was especially due to the historical injustice that was meted out to the Jews by Adolf Hitler’s regime. This was a substantial contributing factor to the leniency the International Community expressed towards Israel when Tel Aviv chose to go nuclear. This move served as an impetus for Iran’s growing interest in investing in nuclear energy. This paper aims at establishing the policy through which the U.S. can tackle the Middle East nuclear weapons` issue.
U.S. nuclear policy
The Middle East and Western countries have been vital trade partners. However, terrorism activities, targeting the West, with their origin in the East have been a major threat to these international relations. This has made the West to be more interested in the Middle East’s current events. This explains the importance of the policy that the U.S. should adopt in regard to nuclear weapons in the Middle East. A review of earlier policies that the U.S. adopted in regard to nuclear weapons in this region is important in asserting why bolstering the global non-proliferation regime is the only way forward for the United States.
Export controls policy
The exports control policy used by the U.S.A for quite a long period in the Middle East has come up under criticism for increasing woes in the region (Vali & Ray 2008). The policy entails the introduction of trade sanctions on any state of the Middle East that embarks on non-proliferation activities. The policy aims at ensuring that the region remains safe from nuclear weapons. Experts have however discovered that by imposing sanctions, for example, the case in Iran, the problem is not solved. It should be understood that the issue of nuclear weapons in Iran is engulfed by so many misconceptions about the culture of the people. As noted earlier, prior to fall out, the U.S.A and Iran were allies. The U.S. should seek a policy that can reinstate the earlier relations, instead of hostility.
It is paramount that the U.S. maintains its position as the major world power. This is only possible by avoiding scenarios through which its rivals, for example, Russia, China and India are looking upon in order to increase their superiority. These countries have been taking advantage of the sanctions that the U.S. imposes on Iran and the entire Middle East region in order to further their interests (Spiegel & Kibbe 2008). This is an issue that the U.S. policymakers failed to consider before adopting the export controls policy. It further causes more harm to the innocent people of the Middle East. This is clear, since Iran is still going ahead with its suspicious nuclear program even in the wake of stiffer sanctions from the entire West.
Deterrence policy
The U.S. policymakers have been deliberating on the effectiveness of deterrence policy. Here, the U.S. was expected to strengthen Iran’s neighbors so as to enable them deal with Iran nuclear menace. This policy was strongly advocated for by President George W. Bush’s administration. This administration is reported to have provided a total amount of $ 20 billion to Saudi-Arabia for arms package. This was given out so as to strengthen Saudi Arabia in terms of military stability. This stability was established. This policy saw the strengthening of ties between the U.S. and Israel, an issue which continues to cause havoc in Iran. It appears as if the policy makers forgot the fact that Israel was a nuclear state. By pursuing this policy, the U.S. was putting the entire Middle East at risk. There was little or no consideration of what would happen if, for instance, Israel launched attacks against Iran’s nuclear facility and lost the attack. This would eventually result to nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
Dealing with the nuclear weapons threat in the Middle East requires more sober policy; policy that will not be seen as being partial by any of the countries from the region. It has to be issue based, quite in line with the NPT provisions. This way, it will not be seen as targeting a specific state and hence, will have the ability to bring normalcy through dialogue in the region. It is, therefore, desired that the U.S. adopts the global non-proliferation regime as a policy through which to tackle the Middle East nuclear weapons menace.
Policy recommendation
In order to prevent proliferation, America ought to embrace a multi-facet approach, including arms control and promotion of international peaceful coexistence of both NPT and non-NPT members. The U.S. should not resort to the use of arms when imparting peace, but rather explore the available diplomatic tactics in arriving at a consensus. Diplomatic approach should also be employed in imparting sanctions, aimed at controlling the usage of nuclear related energy forms. The rules implemented should be applied to all countries to avoid conflicts. This approach is viable, since it offers a platform for all countries in utilizing the nuclear power, while adhering to the stated rules. Therefore, before resorting to military preemption, the U.S. should first exhaust all possible channels that prevent proliferation. For instance, it should be at the fore front in exploring the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction. This should be achieved through establishing international coalitions to eradicate the recipes of WMD and promote strict mechanisms in safeguarding the components of WDM. Embracing the spirit of harmony helps in critical analysis of issues and its benefits are far more reaching than resorting to military tactics.
The U.S. should also incorporate the additional protocol policy. This involves establishing monitoring mechanisms to ensure that countries do not deviate from the Safeguard Agreement in using the nuclear energy. This provides assurance of the security of other countries and, hence, there is no need in looking for potent protection mechanisms. In coming up with these treaties, equal measures should be taken in controlling the involvement in nuclear weapon production. Apart from assuring the security of the countries, this method is viable since it helps provide proper guidelines towards the use of nuclear power and ensures beneficial gain of the relevant countries. However, this tactic has its main challenge in threatening the security of a given country. Some countries are opposed to this tactic, since they feel that their security detail is compromised in being monitored on their activities. This is brought about by the lack of trust between the member states.
Therefore, the U.S. policy makers should strive towards eradicating the notion that America is safeguarding its own interests in the name of controlling nuclear usage. The U.S needs to create confidence, especially among the Middle East countries, so as to have a breakthrough in the control of nuclear weapons. The U.S should also consider leading by example. They should start off by opening up to their own policies and allow themselves to be assessed, other than focusing on others. This, however, does not apply to America alone. The Middle East countries should learn to respect the treaties as agreed. They should learn to respect and live by their words. For instance, Iran, despite pledging to stop manufacture of nuclear weapons, still went on, defying the agreements set. This also creates a sense of insecurity in other countries, prompting them to take part in the unwarranted productions. This has led U.S to focus more on its internal security, as well as safeguarding its vested interests in the Middle East. This has proved expensive for America and has even led to the underfunding of some crucial sectors in the name of funding the security docket.
Conclusion
In controlling nuclear weapon manufacture, the U.S, through its nonproliferation policy, should find mechanisms of increasing the membership of the treaties aimed at creating peaceful coexistence between itself and more specifically the Middle East countries. The policies implemented should not threaten the security state of other countries. The policies should be arrived at through consensus and all member states of a given treaty should be bound by them without any exception. The viability of the policies should be weighed before implementing, as most of them are usually biased. These policies and treaties should be respected by each member state, and implementations foreseen. For instance, in implementing the additional protocol treaty, close supervision should be monitored to those countries that are suspected of violating the IAEA rules. For instance, in 1991, the IAEA confirmed the dismantlement of South African nuclear weapons. Iran, for instance, should bind these rules and respect them. All is said than done, military actions are usually much more expensive and would result into much more calamities than approximated. Therefore, the U.S policy makers ought to formulate policies that are focused towards promoting peace, instead of resorting to military actions.