This paper explores the issues that will surround the creation of a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (WMDFZ) in the Gulf and the Middle East. It starts from the premise that such a Zone will not be created unless a regional cooperation and security system is also created within the region. The paper thus considers that issue as well, and the interplay between the two. The paper argues that WMD programs exist in several countries in the region to satisfy multiple security concerns. Any WMDFZ, and associated regional cooperation and security system will thus have to be capable of addressing this complex and multifaceted security situation. The paper then considers other regional WMDFZs, with a particular emphasis on situations where countries with WMD programs have renounced or reversed these programs, and considers what lessons might exist for the Middle East. Finally, the paper concludes with some suggestions and proposals as to how the process might begin of creating both a regional cooperation and security system and a WMDFZ in the Middle East.
