Pre-emption taken to a new level

[TBSS]

I think all Americans should start sitting up in their seats in response to this one, especially considering who has their fingers on the button:

 

Pentagon Considers Pre-emptive Nuclear Strikes

[Jonmalibuss]

I am glad to see the last line (The draft also says American policymakers have "repeatedly rejected calls for adoption of 'no first use' policy of nuclear weapons since this policy could undermine deterrence.") Hey it worked with Japan the first time I don't see why we shouldn't do it again if it comes down to it!

[dcairns]

Mixed feelings on that one. On the one hand, it would be nice to take care of problems like Iran and North Korea the easy way, before they start lobbing A-bombs at their neighbors or us. On the other hand, given how well the CIA works, they would probably conclude the Swiss were "intending to use" WMD and recommend we nuke em just to be safe

[misterp]

I'll weigh-in an opinion - persons advocating the use of WMD are just lazy, it is too hard (or costly) to do the *right* thing and get committed to building a better defense against the real threats poised against us. I'm all for pre-emptive action but against WMD, for political/foreign affairs reasons. I personally would like to see our defense dollars continue into improving intelligence, efficiency, stealth technologies/tactics, and precision weapons. There's no need to nuke an entire city when a couple very well-placed shots are all that is called for.

 

Moral discussion aside, genocide as a military strategy is unreasonable and innefective (politically), many others in history have tried using the WMD of their day and proven that it's just a strategy which doesn't work. And, as mighty as the US is, we will never be able to take on the whole world and I am sure that using WMD in an offensive role will certainly bring that to bear on us.

 

This is why IMO getting a working national ballistic shield in place is critical to our foreign policy future - things would be a lot different today if that whacko maniac in North Korea thought anything launched our way would just get shot down into the sea. Right now we (the US) can be bullied by those with nuclear capabilty, so at the moment we either have to bully back (with nukes of our own and a MAD policy) or commit ourselves to getting clear of the nuclear threat.

 

That, and real phasers would just be too damn cool.

Mr. P.