Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Pandora’s Nuclear Box Already Opened

There’s a CNN political poll today expressing some interesting numbers regarding nuclear weapons; folks who are not familiar with the notion; once Pandora’s Box has been opened, it’s too late.

“Fifty-eight percent of women favor the elimination of all nuclear weapons, but most men don't share that view,” says Holland. “People under 50 also call for the elimination of all nuclear weapons, but people over 50 - who are more likely to remember the Cold War - think that the U.S. and a few other countries should retain their nuclear arms.”

“In 1988, the same question produced a 56 percent to 41 percent margin in favor of eliminating all nuclear weapons. According to that poll, only a quarter of Americans think it is possible to get rid of nuclear weapons worldwide. That is also a change from the late 1980s, when more than a third of all Americans said that it was possible to eliminate all nuclear weapons.”

I’d have to blame these results on poor reasoning skills. Those over 50 who are calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons are showing signs of memory loss (CRS) while those under 50 are living in fantasy land with no understanding of how ruthless the world’s bad guys can be if not deterred by a force too terrible to mess with.

A brief history lesson would yield insight on the development of nuclear weapons; my apology for the use of the word “yield”, a Freudian slip no doubt. The generations involved in WWII were in a deadly struggle, all interested in total dominance. Germany was close to the magic solution just prior to their having been taken out of the equation; unconditional surrender to Allied forces. American scientists, under the coordinated supervision of the military, unlocked the secrets necessary to unleash the power of the atom. Shortly thereafter Japan was subjected to the atomic bomb and also surrendered unconditionally. Nuclear weaponry had shown its effectiveness and “could never be put back into the bottle”.

As a minor point of interest, my father would have been part of the invasion fleet, a full frontal attack on Japan, had the atomic bomb not destroyed their will to continue the war effort. I’ve considered the human loss associated with dropping such a horrendous weapon on anyone while at the same time calculating the staggering losses to Allied forces had such an invasion taken place. I’m grateful my father and countless others never had to learn how dedicated the Japanese were to securing their homeland from conventional military tactics.

Following the end of WWII the Cold War took over; a steady race to see which nation could manufacture the most destructive nuclear arsenal, Russia (USSR) or America (USA). The collapse of the USSR led many to believe that the threat of nuclear attack was all but ended; however, the secrets of nuclear military technology had long since been shared or stolen. Third world nations with less than stable leaders now have nuclear capabilities with long range delivery systems. To believe otherwise is lunacy; to establish treaties in the name of such lunacy when you are the president of the United States of America is incredibly short sighted, to the point of being criminally negligent.

Next week there will be another poll to find out how many folks want gunpowder eliminated, making it impossible for gun owners to shoot their evil weapons. No doubt there will be similar percentages showing a united desire to rid the world of danger. Anyone not in favor of getting rid of gunpowder must be radical right wing hate mongers intent on killing or maiming innocent children. Names will be taken of anyone not in favor of destroying all gunpowder stores worldwide.


This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.

8 comments:

The probligo said...

I agree. Pandora’s Box is open.


Read again, and you will find that the proposed new SALT - or START or whatever acronym is current - treaty with Russia is a very small part of the efforts being made.

I for one congratulate anyone, whether American President or not, who is prepared to stick their head out of their trench in an effort to stop any further proliferation of nuclear capability and most particularly to enhance protection and control of existing WGU stocks in whatever form they might take.

The real biggie is getting the Russians in particular (and that includes Ukraine who hold the biggest part of the old Russian stocks), the Chinese and Israelis to control and stop the pilfering and loss of their existing WGU stocks. If Obama can pull that one off then he deserves a huge thanks and even a kiss on the cheek from every American.

The probligo said...

Oh, sorry, omitted one thought -

Pakistan in particular needs to take responsibility for its capability and stocks and probably represents the greatest threat. India is marginally more stable but needs watching as well.

Cooperation from the Russians and Chinese in that quarter is not just needed but imperative.

My bad...

T. F. Stern said...

The problem with liars is they tend to lie, claim to uphold treaties when in fact they don't. In the case of Obama signing with the Russians, this comes the same week that the Russians are telling Chavez down in Venezuela that they will supply him with nuclear weapons; hardly what I'd call honoring the intent of scaling down nuclear weapons.

Obama is dealing from a weak hand when he declared his intention to never use nuclear weapons, even if chemical or biological weapons were used against the US. The purpose of nuclear weapons is to be so terrible as to discourage anyone from attacking, regardless of the tactical weapons used.

As far as Pakistan, India, North Korea, Iran being unstable and capable of nuclear attacks, well that is the world we live in.

There was a report out recently that a large percentage of nuclear material in various stages of usefulness could not be accounted for in both Russian states as well as China; how comforting that is to the civilized world.

The probligo said...

TF, can you give me a link for that last para? That is info that would interest me.

I have been looking, including through the IAEA, and can find very little on it.

The only reference to Russia and Chavez relates to a nuclear powerstation. that, as I have written at home, is a very long way from weapons. Can you provide a link saying "weapons" instead of "powerstation"?

T. F. Stern said...

Probligo,

The ability to read between the lines, especially when dealing with liars and power hungry despots like Chavez makes it easier to understand news articles.

If you read the information in the link I'm providing you see that Russia will supply nuclear power plants for Venezuela; however the entire article solidifies the fact that Chavez is spending billions of dollars with Russia for arms. It doesn't take a "nuclear scientist" to figure out the handshake under the table opens the door for other uses of nuclear material.

If you are as smart as I think you are this should not be too difficult a step in logic. History has shown that despots will do anything to obtain nuclear weapons and technology, why would you give such a power crazy man as Chavez any benefit of the doubt?

link:

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Russia-Offers-Venezuela-Nuclear-Help-89830047.html

Starsplash said...

A radio active we will go,

a radio active we will go,

hi ho the dairy-o a radio active we will go.

At least our food will be free of deadly germs.

T. F. Stern said...

Ron, It will be easier to pick fruit and vegetables in at night if they glow in the dark; just thought you'd enjoy the thought...

Starsplash said...

Hmmm, luminecent fruit. Theres and idea.
I bet we could get the kids even more excited about eating all their fruits and veggies at that.