[Drake Dun]

Originally Posted by Binkie

The problem with podunk nations having nuclear weapons is 1.) they ignite arms races with other podunk nations that don't need and shouldn't have them, 2.) it's extremely counter productive to Global Non-Proliferation efforts, and 3.) rogue nations in particular that have them for "defense" generally don't have much care for setting of a nuclear holocaust for whatever reason if threatened.

Judging from history, all of those are equally true of the U.S., or China, or anybody you please. If these countries are less likely to press the button, it's only because at the moment, the need to do so seems further away.

Iran may have a right to nuclear power, but not a nuclear weapon. Not while being a signitory to the NNPT.

A masterpiece of equity. "All you weenies who don't have nukes, you're not allowed to get them. The rest of us can do whatever we want, except that we all agree not to give you bozos jack shit. Oh, and we agree to think about agreeing that we should agree to do something about the nukes that we have... sometime in the future. Maybe. Suckers."

Israel... [would] point towards statements made publicly about wiping Israel off the map completely. That doesn't sound so "defensive" from the standpoint of a country who has been threatened and outnumbered for over half a decade by nations that would indeed like to follow through on such an attack.

Granted. If Iran needs nukes, Israel needs them even more - especially if Iran already has them. That's the whole problem. Escalation. The point I am trying to make is that if escalation and hence nuclear proliferation are ever to be avoided, ameliorated, or reversed, the countries that have enough emotional space (if you will) - i.e., the wealthy and well armed ones, are where it will need to start.

Right now it just sounds like a bad joke when Bush's cronies get up and denounce Iran for developing nukes. The U.S. is like a parent who screams "if you ever even touch cigarettes, I'll break your fucking arm!" while puffing furiously away on the last cigarette of its second pack of the day.

Drake