No nations should have nukes...

[dameonmac14]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/04/nuclear-weapons-must-be-eradicated

A commentary I found interesting.

The author comments:

We cannot intimidate others into behaving well when we ourselves are misbehaving. Yet that is precisely what nations armed with nuclear weapons hope to do by censuring North Korea for its nuclear tests and sounding alarm bells over Iran's pursuit of enriched uranium. According to their logic, a select few nations can ensure the security of all by having the capacity to destroy all.

Until we overcome this double standard – until we accept that nuclear weapons are abhorrent and a grave danger no matter who possesses them, that threatening a city with radioactive incineration is intolerable no matter the nationality or religion of its inhabitants – we are unlikely to make meaningful progress in halting the spread of these monstrous devices, let alone banishing them from national arsenals

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

The point of the quote is that no one should have nuclear weapons. And we agree...in a world of unicorns and rainbows. Unfortunately, we have to deal with the world we have. If every nuclear power disarmed, would that really be the end of nuclear weapons? Of course not. That's wishful thinking. The reality is that there are going to be those who are going to want them and get them. And that is what we have to deal with.

 

[dameonmac14]

The point of the quote is that no one should have nuclear weapons. And we agree...in a world of unicorns and rainbows. Unfortunately, we have to deal with the world we have. If every nuclear power disarmed, would that really be the end of nuclear weapons? Of course not. That's wishful thinking. The reality is that there are going to be those who are going to want them and get them. And that is what we have to deal with.

Oddly enough, in my Social Change class, we are studying war, revolution, and peace, and what each did to affect American society, and it seems that we are always in a cycle of truce and fighting. I suppose you have a point; total disarmament is not going to happen, and anyone who tries is going to get taken over.

While deterrence has worked, it also has caused inequality, and this results in rogue nations who want the nukes because they recognize the kind of respect they would obtain in that case. I do wonder though....how long can deterrence last?

You're right though; we have to deal with what's in front of us instead of dreaming of what should be.