Middle East Turmoil

Seymour M. Hersh’s obsession with Israel’s nuclear arms is misguided (“Israel May Give Up Nuclear Edge,” Commentary, Feb. 2).

Israel, like the United States in the Cold War era, maintains nuclear weapons as a deterrent to Arab aggression. An honest observer of the Middle East must acknowledge that militant Arab and Muslim states, like Syria and Iran, are the source of danger in the region. The fact that Israel, a U.S. ally, must arm itself in defense of their threats only argues for greater vigilance against the development of the “Islamic bomb.” While despotic regimes across the Middle East strive for the bomb, Hersh would deny to the region’s only democracy--Israel--the means to deter aggression.

BEN ORLANSKI

Los Angeles