Keep an eye on Pakistan, where a multisided civil war is only a well-aimed bullet or two away (access to nukes

Question

In reference to the wrong people getting their hands on ready to fire nuclear weapons.

Your thoughts?

Answer 1

My thoughts overall are not good ones.

Nations like Pakistan and Afghanistan are hanging by a thread.  Their governments are somewhat friendly to us but their populations are much less so.  So we work with what we have.

US policy is to prevent unfriendly countries from obtaining nukes.  My gut reaction is that we cannot do so indefinitely.  We assumed (rightly, I believe) a basic rationality in the Soviet leadership, so MAD worked as a deterrent.  This is much less reliable with fanatical and/or untraceable terrorist groups and regimes.  (I understand that we can trace the nuclear "fingerprint" of any detonated nuclear device and therefore find who is responsible - which should act as some deterrent - but again some folks WANT to die in the process of killing us.)

I'm not optimistic that we can protect ourselves indefinitely.  there are more of "them" than there are of "us," and they are much more motivated.  (Last I heard, the citizenry of the nations and the groups we're worried about were not willing, or able, to work overtime posting messages about how their leaders were lying, evil, etc. such as we see every day on these boards.)

I hope and pray I am wrong, but I think some major (nuclear) attack on the US in the next ten years is very likely.  I think we need to keep fighting, obviously, to prevent this.  And unfortunately I don't count on much of the "civilized" world to help, or even care very much.  Europe appears to have little will left.

I know this is a downer.  <sigh>

Answer 2

YOU GOT IT RIGHT, GET READY ITS COMING 2008.

Answer 3

If radicals and extremist's get their hands on the nukes, India, who also possesses nukes, may get trigger happy.

Answer 4

Actually, you are right, we should be very careful how we deal with Pakistan.

The problem is that civil wars are more likely to start when people have no other means of changing a government, and Pakistan is a dictatorship.

I think that in order to prevent a civil war, we need to bring about free and fair elections in Pakistan, and more importantly, support its return to democracy even if the people of Pakistan elect a hostile government.

Only then will the Muslim world realise that we are serious about supporting democracy, and that is what will make it less likely that Pakistan will hand nukes to the nutters who would attack us.

Answer 5

Thanks for the heads up. Seems all the natives are restless these days, more and more.

Have a great day.

Answer 6

My thoughts:

I think Israel should not have nuclear weapons!

If it does it will trigger its destruction!

Pakisatan is a wise owner of nukes.