Professor Stephen Walt, whose blog post prompted Sam Roggeveen's thoughts on regional nuclear disarmament in the Middle East, sends this reply to Sam's post:
It's a very smart argument, and one for which I have some sympathy. But I can't imagine Israel agreeing to give up the ultimate deterrent anytime soon, especially given their views on the neighborhood in which they live. And if the US can't even get them to stop building settlements, how could we (or anyone else) convince them to abandon their nuclear arsenal, even as part of a larger regional disarmament scheme? Israel's lack of confidence in the UN and related agencies would no doubt reinforce their reluctance, and if I were Israeli I would find it hard to take such a bold step anytime soon.
