You are viewing an obsolete version of the DU website which is no longer supported by the Administrators. Visit The New DU.
Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Reply #11: Actually Israel is generally thought to have a much larger nuclear force. [View All]

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Latest Breaking News Donate to DU
Warren Stupidity Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-12-07 06:02 AM
Response to Reply #7
11. Actually Israel is generally thought to have a much larger nuclear force.
Israel is the sixth nation in the world, and the first in the Middle East, to develop and acquire a nuclear weapons capability. Israel initiated its nuclear program in earnest in the mid-to-late 1950s, and by late 1966, it had completed the R&D phase of its first nuclear weapon device. Since 1970, Israel's status as a nuclear weapon state (NWS) has become an accepted international fact.

However, Israel's behavior as a NWS has been distinctly different from the behavior of the five official members of the nuclear club that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)—the United States, Russia, France, China, and the United Kingdom; and India and Pakistan, which have not signed the NPT. While these nations have publicly declared their nuclear status, Israel, to this day, has never confirmed or denied its nuclear status and remains outside the NPT. Since Prime Minister Levi Eshkol pledged in the mid-1960s that "Israel will not be the first nation to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East," all his successors have adhered to this opaque declared policy. This policy has become known as Israel's policy of "nuclear opacity" or ambiguity, perhaps the most distinguishing Israeli contribution to the nuclear age.

Israel is now an advanced NWS, in both quality and quantity of its arsenal. Estimates as to the size of Israel's nuclear arsenal vary significantly and range from fewer than 100 warheads to as many as 300. It is believed that Israel's current nuclear arsenal, along with its related delivery and command and control infrastructure, is comparable in quantity and quality to that of the United Kingdom and France (superior to that of India and Pakistan).
http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Israel/Nuclear/index.html

The "delivery and command and control infrastructure" is thought to include submarine based weapons that give Israel a survivable force.



Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 

Home » Discuss » Latest Breaking News Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC