NUCLEAR PROGRAM IN ARMENIA
HAKOB BADALYAN
Story from Lragir.am News:
Published: 15:54:52 – 06/02/2012
In an interview with NBC News, the U.S. President Barrack Obama
announced: ‘We’re going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from
getting a nuclear weapon and creating an arms race – a nuclear arms
race – in a volatile region,’ Obama said.
Indeed, if the international community allows Iran to have nuclear
weapon, and as soon as it is an established fact, if certainly it
has not been established yet, the countries of the region will have
to think about the nuclear arsenal.
In this case, the international community will not have the “moral”
right to veto the nuclear programs of any country of the region.
Moreover, it will be interested in having Iran surrounded with a
chain of nuclear countries, serving as a shield.
The region is a rather complicated region with crossing interests,
hence if a nuclear power emerges, a nuclear program becomes a national
security must. Moreover, in most countries, it must be one of the
important issues of the national security agenda.
So is the case of Armenia. Certainly, the body dealing with our
national security seems to be concerned mainly with marketing for the
export of brandy and the import of tractors but perhaps it is high
time to deal with the security issues more seriously and predict the
possible challenges, including the scenarios of preparations of the
nuclear program.
The point is that if suddenly the international community makes a
blunder regarding Iran and allows Iran to have nuclear weapon, Turkey
and Azerbaijan may declare about their nuclear program considering
that Iran’s nuclear program obliges them to have nuclear weapon for
the purpose of security.
In this regard, perhaps the best option for Armenia would be to rely
on its own nuclear program rather than the Russian nuclear shield. The
point is that in the case of Armenia this shield will work the same
way as the contingent of the Russian border guards on the Armenian
border, which is the penal battalion of the Russian army.
The same could be in the case of the nuclear shield when the nuclear
weapon will blast in our territory instead of protecting us. After all,
the stories of the Russian atomic submarines are very eloquent in the
context of comments on the modernization of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
Armenia must rely on its own nuclear arsenal if suddenly Iran declares
to launch a nuclear program. Afterwards, Armenia must keep up with
Turkey and Azerbaijan or it may be fatal.
By the way, the pronouncement of the U.S. president is evidence that
it is impossible to stop Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. may approve
the possible future programs in other countries of the region. In other
words, supporting these programs may be considered as counterbalance to
Iran which may use its nuclear program first of all to reach absolute
dominance and influence in the region.
In this regard, the possession of nuclear weapon by Armenia becomes a
crucial issue for the South Caucasian part of the region in terms of
preserving regional balance because if Turkey and Azerbaijan expressed
such ambitions, the West may not curb these programs to use them
as counterbalance to Iran but in this case it must be interested in
encouraging Armenia to develop nuclear weapon in Armenia considering
that by becoming the godfather of this weapon it will weaken the
military and political dominance of Russia in Armenia and the region.
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