Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2001
As if the world were not in enough trouble already, we now learn that Iraq has all of the basic components necessary to assemble a nuclear bomb. The Jerusalem Post reports that Dr. Khidhir Hamza, who defected from Iraq in 1994, described Saddam Hussein’s nuclear arsenal as “more or less complete.”
“The basic bomb components are there in Iraq. The casting is there. One of the casting furnaces was taken out but another one was built. . . . Fuse components are there. Explosives are there. And the initiator for the nuclear reaction is there. So bomb-wise, Iraq is finished.”
According to Dr. Hamza, the only element hindering completion of the doomsday device is fissile material. Perhaps the country already has it. “If not, it will have within a short time a nuclear weapon. I expect, another year,” he said.
Dr. Hamza comment- ed further by saying the Iraqi nuclear program is so well disguised that even if United Nations inspectors return, they will be unable to detect it.
This chilling bit of information comes at a time when Saddam Hussein is spoiling to get into the fight against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Operations Directorate expects Iraq to become involved on Israel’s northern border. Any Israeli reaction to escalated terrorist attacks from Hezbollah or the Syrians will be an open invitation for Iraq to make its move. Israel is making preparations to deal with such an eventuality by laying a fiber optic cable along its entire northern border to enhance communications and intelligence gathering.
Iraq’s entry into the conflict would be welcomed by Yasser Arafat, who has longed for fighting to break out on the northern border to give him the two-front war he desires.
The more ominous problem for the nations in the region will be the creation of a feared military alliance. Syria, Iraq, and Iran will constitute a direct threat, not only to Israel and the West, but also to Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab nations.
These developments and the prospect of Iraq’s nuclear capacity make the creation of missile shields more than an issue to be debated from philosophical or budgetary points of view. Israel wisely has installed the Arrow missile defense system. It is a functional defense against incoming ballistic missiles. Western nations, particularly the United States, will do well to follow Israel’s lead.
That men still relish the ability to kill one another and develop weaponry capable of wiping out entire societies again confirms what the Bible has long since declared. Man is not a creature ascending to higher planes of civility, love for his neighbors, and endeavor for the betterment of the people on Earth. Depravity of the lowest sort still prowls the planet. And those who do not recognize this fact and prepare accordingly are doomed to be disappointed, disillusioned, and perhaps destroyed.
