Originally posted by Ender
Let's just rembemer some history, before we repeat it.[/QUOTE
Yes, lets.
Originally posted by junior
If Saddam or someone else starts letting loose on us with an arsenal of chemical weapons, don't be too surprised if a tactical nuke or two goes off in response.
As a country would have a right to, but I firmly believe we should destroy these world massecring devices.
Originally posted by junior
Yes, the US is the only nation to have ever detonated nuclear weapons in anger.
And that's what scares me.
Originally posted by junior
Let me just close with this.
During the time period between then and now, the US is still the only nation that has ever used nuclear weapons in a war. Yes, its unfortunate that they had to be used at all, but given what had already happened, the long term consequences were probably for the best. And no matter what nation you are a citizen of, you should be grateful that it was the US that had the weapons, and not some other nation. The US is hardly perfect, and has done a lot of really stupid and/or immoral things in the past, but the its citizens generally try to do the right thing, and have a habit of keeping its leaders in check, as well as periodically dropping into isolationism and wishing the rest of the world would just go away and leave us alone.
Very well put.
Originally posted by WildWeasel
I'm tired of thinking (or even hearing) about America's relations with other nations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to curl up into my jaded teenage shell and try to forget that anything outside my cave of a room exists.
I've done that before. Take cover in my slightly older and more dented shell with...anyway. I do want to forget about these these things sometimes. But I think it's a sin to close my eyes to it forever.
Originally posted by Shaggy
I doubt that Bush, or any sane politician, would actually resort to using nukes, tactical or otherwise.
I hope not.
Originally posted by Shaggy
The problem with people like Bin Laden and Saddam is that they do not have any respect for the power, and consequences, of nuclear weapons. So they look at them as sort of the ultimate weapon.
If I can just step into the realm of Wing Commander for a minute, think Tolwyn and his Behemoth.
Originally posted by Shaggy
In my opinion the ultimate weapon would be a fully armed carrier battlegroup supported by JSTARS aircraft.
Or the Tiger's Claw. In my opinion the greatest group of pilots in Wing Commander, period.
Originally posted by Shaggy
It's extremely unlikely that it would come down to us launching nukes, although it would serve Osama and Saddam right for being such assholes.
It would. But thankfully I think we're better than that.
Originally posted by Quarto
Pay no attention to the "if Saddam gets nuclear weapons, he'll use them because he's mad" crowd. Everybody is intimidated by nuclear weapons, and everybody that want nuclear weapons, want them primarily as a deterrent.
I think that people like Binladen, and possibly Saddam Hussain as well, see it as the ultimate weapon to use against infidels. But countries like America making threats to use nukes are empty, and I feel that nukes are too good a deterrent, in so far as it strikes terror into the hearts of people the world over.
Originally posted by Quarto
Everybody[/i] knows the consequences they would face if they actually used nuclear weapons, and nobody wants to face those consequences. There are no psychopathic "rogue states" that want to start up WWIII or whatever.
Binladen?
Originally posted by Quarto
This is why nuclear weapons are so great,
Great?
Originally posted by Quarto
and this is why Bush said what he said - deterrents aren't much use if people forget that you have them.
That's true I guess.
Originally posted by junior
Unfortunately, much of the Middle Eastern world isn't necessarily filled with individuals who think as rationally as you or I, Quarto. I've heard the occasional quote from Arab residents of that region who are convinced that if Saddam, or any other Arab nation, does get a nuke, it'll go off over Tel Aviv that afternoon. Truth be told, given the corruption, graft, religious fanaticism, hatred of Israel, and general corruption in much of the region, I suspect that the wishes of the nation in question are almost irrelevent. When someone develops a nuke, word is going to get out, and the terrorists will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.
Words that are so true under a sky so blue. Hey, I'm a poet and I wasn't aware of it. Damn. Seriously, wise words.
Originally posted by LeHah
In the nation of LeHah, all are welcome except those that force their own morals and values on others.
(Yes, I realize thats a double-standard statement)
No it's not. Giving your opinion is one thing. Forcing others to believe what you believe is quite another.