The nuclear Middle East

Saudi Arabia today declared that they will match Iran's nuclear capability - whatever that may be.

It's not exactly a surprise, especially in the context of both Iran's clear intentions to dominate the region and what amounts to an ongoing civil war between the major branches of Islam.

(A NY Times story on the latest developments here.)

The immediate practical effects of the declaration are highly debatable, given the difficulties involved in ramping up a program and the fact that Saudi Arabia is widely believed to already have a deal with Pakistan to "borrow" some of its nukes in the time of a crisis. But it's not a good day for anyone who opposes nuclear proliferation.

Logically, the possibility of a nuclear-armed Saudi Arabia might be the best incentive Iran would have to forgo its own weapons development. But logic rarely seems to prevail in the world, least of all in the Middle East.