Nuclear weapons are like the backyard swimming pool: One family gets one and all the neighbors feel compelled to follow. Proliferation begets proliferation. When North Korea made great display of its nuclear capability, for example, talk of building a nuclear weapons arsenal got louder in Japan.

Now it appears the volatile Middle East may be the next region to embark on a nuclear race.

On November 3, six Arab states announced their intent to start nuclear energy programs. “The move, which follows the failure by the West to curb Iran’s controversial nuclear program, could see a rapid spread of nuclear reactors in one of the world’s most unstable regions, stretching from the Gulf to the Levant and into North Africa” (Times Online, November 4). The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has already held talks with these countries and that its technical advisory program would be available to them.

Experts suspect that nuclear weapons aren’t far from their thoughts, since these states, which include Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Algeria, are likely trying to protect themselves from the Iranian nuclear threat. Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said it was evident these Arab nations were seeking a “security hedge.” While some countries may be able to mount an argument for the need for nuclear energy, certainly Saudi Arabia—home to the world’s largest oil reserves—can hardly make a legitimate claim.

This sudden reversal of a longstanding nuclear-free policy among these states shows just how dead the notion of nonproliferation truly is. With Arab countries joining the list of other unpredictable states already pursuing or pushing for nuclear programs—Iran, North Korea, Venezuela—not to mention the specter of nuclear technology being used by terrorist groups, it is clear that the idea that diplomacy can contain nuclear proliferation is deeply flawed. Proliferation to the extent we see today can have only one end: world war on a mass scale. It is a mere matter of time.