ABSTRACT
The greater Middle East nation-states that are pursuing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons and ballistic missile delivery systems are following the dictates of power politics. Their statesmen judge that they are unable to compete on equal footing in conventional military capabilities with their regional rivals as well as outside powers. They are turning to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to redress these perceived deficits of the power needed to ensure their autonomies and national interests in regional struggles for power. National leaders calculate that WMD will bolster their deterrence capabilities against potential adversaries. They also foresee that in the event that deterrence fails and war begins, WMD capabilities would prove to be important instruments for waging war. And war fought with WMD – especially nuclear and biological weapons – could have catastrophic consequences for hundreds of thousands or even millions of innocent civilians tragically caught in the crossfire of warring nation-states.
