ABSTRACT
The wide range of interactive incentives for proliferation has had a powerful effect, and the search for weapons of mass destruction is scarcely new to the region. Israel acquired a significant stockpile of nuclear weapons by 1967. Egypt and Libya sought both nuclear weapons and long range delivery systems, and Egypt and Syria were heavily equipped with chemical defense gear when they attacked Israel in 1973. In order to understand why so many nations have sought weapons of mass destruction, it is necessary to understand something of the technology and military effectiveness of the key systems involved. Biological warhead, bomb, rocket, and shell designs are even more complex than those for chemical weapons. Many weapons also become more effective if they are used over the target area at night, since they lose effectiveness at high temperatures and/or when exposed to ultraviolet light or sunlight.
