September October 2002
Nuclear Notebook
Israeli Nuclear Forces, 2002
It is Israeli policy to neither confirm nor deny that it posseses nuclear weapons, although it is generally accepted by friend and foe alike that Israel has been a nuclear state for several decades. Its declaratory policy states,"Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East," but its actual deployment and employment policies are secret. A January 2001 Pentagon Report _Proliferation: Threats and Responses, omitts Israel from its review of the Middle East, but a 1991 US Strategic Air Command Study lists Israel, India and Pakistan as "de facto" nuclear weapons states. Estimates of the Israeli nuclear arsenal range 75 - 200 weapons comprising bombs, missile warheads and possibly non strategic (tactical) weapons. http://www.thebulletin.org/issues/nukenotes/so02nukenote.pdf