Something very little noticed but very important almost slipped under the radar. Perhaps one of the biggest policy detours ever is about to happen in the Middle East. No, Bush is not pulling out of Iraq, and no, Hassan Nasrallah hasn’t played groundhog and come out of hiding. What has happened, in fact, is that the Arab states — which have historically argued for a nuclear-free Middle East (except for Saddam) — are beginning to rethink their loving attachment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdul Rahman al Attiyah, said at its most recent meeting that the Arab nation needs to work “together on a nuclear program.” Of course, for civilian purposes only. (I didn’t know Saudi Arabia had an energy crisis!).

This is no idle idea-throwing either. Further evidence of this thinking can be seen in Egypt. President Mubarak’s son, Gamal, spoke to a conference of the ruling NDP and proposed that the country begin developing a nuclear program. Of course, for civilian purposes only!

The son of Egypt’s president, seen by many as his potential successor, urged the nation on Wednesday to develop a nuclear program, stressing that it would be only to generate energy and not to build weapons.

Gamal Mubarak’s proposal could aim to establish his own credentials as a serious politician and to publicly distance him from the United States, which is locked in a confrontation with Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

The younger Mubarak first raised the proposal on Tuesday in a speech to a conference of the ruling National Democratic Party, where he is deputy secretary-general. He addressed it again at a press conference Wednesday.

“It’s important to have a future look for the coming 20 years, especially in light of the developments that take place in the oil market in general, and Egypt’s economic growth and increase of consumption,” Mubarak said when asked about nuclear energy.

“When looking at the future, the NDP believes in the importance of putting alternative sources of energy on the agenda,” he said.

He was met with loud applause.

This is a sign that indeed we are sliding down the slippery slope. The only reason that the Arab countries are beginning to think about a nuclear program is because they Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Given that Iran is a Persian, Shia Muslim state, this sends signals to the Sunni Arab countries that the big imperialist in the neighborhood is not really the United States, but the growingly pan-Islamic Iran. And they have to do something to defend themselves against this powerful threat. This same kind of deal went down between India and Pakistan, the same is happening here.

What you’ll have now is Iran with a bomb, Egypt with a bomb, Saudi Arabia with a bomb, and complete and utter destruction if one of the madmen at the top decide one of the others needs to be turned into a glass parking lot. As far as I can tell there is at least one of those who might do it.