Oh ye of little faith
The jig is up. The non-proliferation bluff has been called by a second-generation socialist dictator and the nuclear powers who so jealously guarded their destructive privilege for decades are revealed to be holding nothing. This really should not be surprising, given that none of the countries who developed or are believed to have developed nuclear weapons had ever had their programs attacked during their various development periods.
Furthermore, of the 15 nations which possessed significant nuclear weapons programs but did not go on to complete a functional weapons system, only Iraq was ever attacked. So, the odds that the Nuke Club was speaking loudly and carrying nothing were always weighted heavily in Kim Jong-il's favor, the infamous Axis of Evil speech notwithstanding.
North Korea's nuclear test - assuming that it was, in fact, nuclear - was not merely a massive blow to the credibility of the Nuke Club, but also highlighted the nonsensical nature of the case for a military strike against Iran. Indeed, when one takes the time to consider the justification for the current Iraqi occupation, it quickly becomes apparent that the Iranian nuclear program can be as easily justified and on the very same grounds.
Vox Day
I still have very mixed feelings about Iran and North Korea having nuclear weapons. There is, as Vox argues, very little we can (or probably should) actually do about either of them. However, the idea of two demonstrably lunatic nation-states having the capability to render everything in a large land area into its component, atomic parts and leaving said areas uninhabitable for two thousand centuries causes an understandable emotional reaction. I guess one of the problems I have in resolving this on an intellectual level is the fact that the very thing that prevents us from solving the problem in a decisive manner is missing from the national will of these two countries, or more accurately, from the ethos of the despots who run those countries. We will not employ a massive nuclear strike simply because we understand the long-term consequences. (And no, I don't agree with Vox's prior assertions that such a tactic would fail. That's a matter of scope and not of tactic).
As for whether the modern state of Israel is the same as the one prophesied in the Bible, who knows? I tend to doubt that a quasi-Marxist state run by the secularist Jewish descendants of the Pharisees is what the Prophets or God had in mind. But to Vox's point, if you're pro-Israel because you believe it serves the same purpose as the canary in the coal mine, then your alarm at Iran's saber-rattling is well-founded. However, if you are pro-Israel simply because it encapsulates the Holy Land, then your best bet is, don't worry, be happy.
Furthermore, of the 15 nations which possessed significant nuclear weapons programs but did not go on to complete a functional weapons system, only Iraq was ever attacked. So, the odds that the Nuke Club was speaking loudly and carrying nothing were always weighted heavily in Kim Jong-il's favor, the infamous Axis of Evil speech notwithstanding.
North Korea's nuclear test - assuming that it was, in fact, nuclear - was not merely a massive blow to the credibility of the Nuke Club, but also highlighted the nonsensical nature of the case for a military strike against Iran. Indeed, when one takes the time to consider the justification for the current Iraqi occupation, it quickly becomes apparent that the Iranian nuclear program can be as easily justified and on the very same grounds.
Vox Day
I still have very mixed feelings about Iran and North Korea having nuclear weapons. There is, as Vox argues, very little we can (or probably should) actually do about either of them. However, the idea of two demonstrably lunatic nation-states having the capability to render everything in a large land area into its component, atomic parts and leaving said areas uninhabitable for two thousand centuries causes an understandable emotional reaction. I guess one of the problems I have in resolving this on an intellectual level is the fact that the very thing that prevents us from solving the problem in a decisive manner is missing from the national will of these two countries, or more accurately, from the ethos of the despots who run those countries. We will not employ a massive nuclear strike simply because we understand the long-term consequences. (And no, I don't agree with Vox's prior assertions that such a tactic would fail. That's a matter of scope and not of tactic).
As for whether the modern state of Israel is the same as the one prophesied in the Bible, who knows? I tend to doubt that a quasi-Marxist state run by the secularist Jewish descendants of the Pharisees is what the Prophets or God had in mind. But to Vox's point, if you're pro-Israel because you believe it serves the same purpose as the canary in the coal mine, then your alarm at Iran's saber-rattling is well-founded. However, if you are pro-Israel simply because it encapsulates the Holy Land, then your best bet is, don't worry, be happy.
posted by Anonymous | 2:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home