MINDFUL OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Abstract

This article explores the official Egyptian reaction to the 2010 US Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) through three lenses: Egypt's national security prism; its ideological stance on nuclear weapons; and the compatibility of the 2010 NPR's goals with the position on nuclear weapons of Egypt's like-minded cohort states, including members of the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the New Agenda Coalition. Egypt is one of the strongest US allies in the Middle East, a region considered a hotbed of potential nuclear weapons development and activity. As such, Cairo's opinion on the direction of recent US nuclear weapons policy could provide valuable insight into the feasibility of the US goals of preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism and the compatibility of this policy with the Middle East's greater goals of eventual total nuclear disarmament and the safe and peaceful use of nuclear energy. Egyptian officials have reiterated their commitment to a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East and their support for a world free from the threat of nuclear arms. The Egyptian assessment of the NPR will be contingent on the implementation of the review's lofty goals on a rigorous and progressive pace. This article evaluates the NPR's provisions from three angles with particular emphasis on Egypt's national security prism, which involves a complex regional perspective.