The Growing Risk of Nuclear War

[wa3zrm]

AMB. JOHN BOLTON: The Growing Risk of Nuclear War
foxnews ^
Posted on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 4:45:57 PM
North Korea's behavior shows why we must stop Iran's mullahs from getting the bomb.
Last week, while meandering toward a fourth U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution against Iran, Washington was blindsided by the revival of a previously discarded plan to enrich some of Iran's uranium to higher levels for use in the Tehran research reactor. This proposal -- a good deal for Iran when it was proposed last year by the misguided Obama administration -- is even better in its latest iteration and does nothing to stop Iran's uranium enrichment program.
The Iranian enrichment deal was brokered by Brazil and Turkey, two of the 10 current nonpermanent Security Council members, and it could pose difficulties for getting the council to adopt another resolution on sanctions. To forestall the debilitating effects of the Brazil-Turkey deal, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promptly circulated to other council members the draft of a sanctions resolution the five permanent members and Germany had spent months negotiating.
Unfortunately, the damage was done. Turkey announced that negotiations on sanctions should cease for 30 days and Brazil flatly proclaimed it would not even discuss the draft resolution. Since one good turn deserves another, China and Russia will now graciously acknowledge the Brazil-Turkey initiative and insist that the other permanent members enter serious consultations regarding the draft of the permanent five. Thus, having negotiated intensely for months with Russia and China, Mrs. Clinton can look forward to another opportunity to negotiate intensely with both them and their surrogates.
The pending, wholly inadequate sanctions in the draft resolution will almost certainly grow weaker. Most significantly, a new effort to embargo major conventional weapons sales to Iran does not prohibit selling Iran air defense capabilities. Thus, Russia can still deliver its sophisticated S-300 system.

[tom502]

When the US dismantles all it's nuke stockpiles and shuts down all it's nuke plants, then I will side with the US's bullying other nations to do that.

[Jwalker]

Right I'm sure Russia and China will be honest and disarm too.

[tom502]

We sure won't, so why should they? It's because of our stockpiles we get way with bullying the world. Those other nations know that, that's why they need them too.

[bipolarbear1968]

Tom, I much rather have a nuke armed USA than Iran.

[tom502]

I don't think Iran wants nukes, but I think they need them.

[danielan]

We sure won't, so why should they? It's because of our stockpiles we get way with bullying the world. Those other nations know that, that's why they need them too.

That doesn't make sense.

We've only used them 2x and that was 65 years ago.

We "bully" the rest of the world into not being asses because we spend a lot of money to build modern arms and maintain a large standing army.

[tom502]

The smaller nations, will know the US will be less likely to attack them, if they are nuke armed.

[danielan]

The smaller nations, will know the US will be less likely to attack them, if they are nuke armed.

Not really - they just know where we will strike first - and that nukes are now an option for us too.

[sgreger1]

I don't think Iran wants nukes, but I think they need them.

First of all Iran has made it clear that they want nukes and that they are building them as we speak. There is no question in anyones mind anywhere on the planet that they are building nukes.
Our problem is that they are going around inspections and trying to be stealthy by building them inside hollowed out mountains.
But on the same note, if we are to prosecute those who don't follow UN regulations or inspections, than why not look to Israel, who not long ago gave nuclear weapons to apartheid African countries?

But you should know the answer to that Tom, BECAUSE THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS AND IRAN IS CONSTANTLY SAYING THEY WISH TO DESTROY THE GREAT EVIL USA AND ISRAEL. Therefore, us an Israel find a common enemy. Therefore we only complain about shit when Iran does it.

Iran wouldn't be in the spotlight if they would just stop talking about how they want to destroy the US and nuke israel off the map. Other small countries have obtained nukes and we didn't make a fuss about it, so Iran should learn from them.

[sgreger1]

Not really - they just know where we will strike first - and that nukes are now an option for us too.

Exactly. If Iran were not pursiong nukes, the US wouldn't have shit on them and any attack would look bad on us. By building nukes they are just prompting an escelation of force from us. If you go into a fist fight, and the guy pulls out a gun, that means you are now fighting to the death and whereas before you may have just beat him up, now you must kill him.


Plus Iranian nukes aren't even a proble, we could desimate Iran with surgical strikes. Iran is banking on the fact that we will fark it up like every other war we've been in recently. Instead of going in and just taking the whole thing out by air, we would instead send in a bunch of defense contractors to build big bases and a unnecessarily large land force with strict rules of engagement. The US military could take down any country (without using nukes) in a matter of weeks or months, but these countries know we don't have balls like that and will overextend ourselves trying to play fair and therefore they know we will inevitably lose like we have the last few wars.

[truthwolf1]

I hope Iran is secretly creating nukes. There might be some peace finally with Isreal then. Isreal is continually being the bully over there and now they will be slightly more in check. The whole nuking Isreal off the map and starting a war with the US is just heated expressions and propaganda. If you have ever read his letters to the USA you would get a whole different person then the terrorist persona we are getting bombarded with.

N.Korea does make me worry. That guy is completely crazy! The whole population has been ready for war for decades!

[NonServiam]

Fact is....or opinion is, depends on which side you stand, the U.S. has long held the "holier than thou" mentality. I say U.S. because I think the U.S. and America, while geographically the same, are two totally different entities. America is the common man, the patriot, the down-trodden. While the U.S. is a goverment function. I believe Thomas Jefferson once said 'descension is the greatest form of patriotism'.

Anyhow, the U.S. has long held a double standard, used force (whether political or physical) upon other countries to impose our religious, political, and pseudo-morals. Unfortunately this mentality has stirred up the proverbial hornet's nest and focused the cross-hairs in our direction. The U.S. powers that be, have unfortunately interjected Americans into a holy war that has been ongoing for hundreds of years, and will continue to be fought. You can kill every terrorist there is out there, but you cannot kill the philosophy or movement behind it. Which is why Israel, Palestine, etc.. has been unsuccessful in ending the tragedies that they suffer regularly and have for centuries.

Anyone who has spent time in other countries, considerably Europe, will tell you that the U.S. leadership is perceived as zealous tyrants. A German woman was interviewed a while back, and when asked what she thought of Americans wearing shirts depicting George Bush jr., her response was "That's crazy, that would be like me wearing a shirt with Hitler on it.".

We are all entitled to freely express our views and speech, which is what makes this country great. Do not gather from my opinion that I am un-American. I refer back to "Descension is the greatest form of patriotism" . Perhaps I'll make that my new signature.

[sgreger1]

I hope Iran is secretly creating nukes. There might be some peace finally with Isreal then. Isreal is continually being the bully over there and now they will be slightly more in check. The whole nuking Isreal off the map and starting a war with the US is just heated expressions and propaganda. If you have ever read his letters to the USA you would get a whole different person then the terrorist persona we are getting bombarded with.

N.Korea does make me worry. That guy is completely crazy! The whole population has been ready for war for decades!

How is it propaganda. Are you making the statement that Iran has not, in fact, said the exact words that they wish to "wipe Israel off the map"? That it is somehow all propaganda?
And how is Israel being the bully to Iran, wtf has Israel (a little nobody country) done to Iran (the major force in that region)? Really. I mean they don't even say they want to wipe Iran off the map, they just say that they aren't going to be pushed around.


And Iran building nukes will not bring peace with Israel, once they attack Israel how will that bring peace? They have said for years that their intentions are to attack Israel, so why would you think they would do differently? Why would them getting nukes add any amount of peace to the situation.

[sgreger1]

A German woman was interviewed a while back, and when asked what she thought of Americans wearing shirts depicting George Bush jr., her response was "That's crazy, that would be like me wearing a shirt with Hitler on it.".

Okay, so then that just shows how ignorant your average person in Germany is then if that's what they believe. Has Bush created Gulags and burned millions people, has he launched some campaign where he marched soldiers through every neighboring country as he slowly tries to take over the world? What part of hitler does Bush represent? I don't get it. This is like when the T-party says Obama is hitler, it's just not true, cool t-shirt or not.


America is over-reaching in it's affairs with the rest of the world, that much is true, we need to go back to being isolationists and not worry about what's happening elsewhere unless it affects us. Blowing up the twin towers is likely to get some people fu*king shot, so that's not our bad. Other than that we need to quit starting wars and close down all these unecessary military bases.

What is the German people's views on Obama and people who wear Obama shirts? Tell me why they don't feel Obama is Hitler, since he has escalated (in a major way) the war effort and expanded it to new countries? Is it just uneducated propaganda spewing that causes people to make these comments, or does Obama get a free pass because he comes off as a the kinda guy you'd wanna have a beer with?