“The United States long has winked at Israel’s policy of ambiguity about its nuclear weapons. American leaders have turned a blind eye to the Israeli program ever since President Nixon struck a deal with Prime Minister Golda Meir in 1969 that the U.S. wouldn’t insist on inspections as long as Israel did not go public about nuclear weapons or test them openly. Now, the disclosure by senior Bush administration and Israeli officials that Israel has modified U.S.-supplied cruise missiles so they can carry nuclear warheads from submarines is a dangerous step.

This is a hostile move aimed at intimidating Israel’s neighbors. But it won’t deter countries such as Iran from developing their own weapons; instead it will only encourage them to move ahead.” —LA Times editorial [via CommonDreams]