Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ontheway]

North Korea has now apparently tested its Nuclear power. This was as I had predicted long ago. Kim Jong Il would be unable to restrain himself. As soon as he had a working device he had to show it to the world.

Now, unless diplomacy and the UN can convince NK to go non nuclear again (odds ... 1/500), or some military action is successfully undertaken in the near future to take out Kim Jong Il and his nukes (odds ... 1/25), Japan will have to follow for self defense and Iran will follow the successful path of NKs insane leader. More nations will then follow - due to perceived need for defense or insane evil leaders.

The result: the effects of chaos theory will set in. There will be too many players with too much power and too little reason to be prudent, coupled with the occasional leader with an insane, religious or ideological perspective unmitigated by intellectual consideration. Rational intenational diplomacy will no longer be able to prevent a small war, conflict, terrorist strike, miscalculation, preemptive strike or whatever from resulting in some kind of nuclear exchange.

It is now inevitable. It's only a matter of when, not if.

[vexed]

It's down to the current nuclear club to solve this problem. They have to lead by example and disarm. Nuclear weaponry can only be a bad thing, no one wins a nuclear war (aside from the co ckroaches - maybe it's their turn to be the dominant species!).

If America truly wants a peaceful and stable world, it has to act by agreeing to disarm it's nuclear weapons. If it doesn't, then it can't argue against other countries having nuclear weapons.

America, take a stand and disarm... it's the path to peace.

[ontheway]

While I do think it is useful and necessary for the US and Russia to continue to disarm, bilaterally, I think it's too late for that to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

If the US rid itself totally of nukes, the only other country likely to go along would be the United Kingdom. The others would find excuses not to follow the example.

[vexed]

I disagree... I think if the US, UK and Russia disarmed then what excuses could the other nuclear club members come up with not to?

[W.T.Carl]

Not a matter of when, but of where. I can see India and Pakistan going at it before anywhere else unless it is Isreal doing a pre-emptive against Iran. The maligant dwarf is just blowing smoke. Of course, he could be considering national suicide, but I really don't think so. We should call the little troll's bluff.

[ChuckECheese]

[Boodleheimer]

[soviet_man]

[ChuckECheese]

[Boodleheimer]

[ChuckECheese]

[Gopher]

Soviet Man implicitly takes the usual one-sided, ahistorical route to criticize U.S. military superiority as if said superiority somehow explains all that has gone wrong in the world since 1945.

Why did the U.S. first develop and then why did the U.S. get into an arms race with respect to nuclear weapons, Soviet Man? For no reason than simply to bully everyone else? How about other powers like the British and the Soviets -- all of whom had very legitimate and very understandable security concerns?

Now, look at the late-comers (India, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, and whoever else is hiding out there), who seem to be using nuclear weapons to validate themselves and their Third-World-style nationalism, to try to force themselves onto the world scene as "equals."

Do you not note any differences at all between those in the first group (and there were more than I mentioned, of course) and the second?

Compare the somber, reflective statements that came out of the U.S., for example, from the likes of Einstein and Oppenheimer with the flag-waving, nationalistic cheers we saw in India, Pakistan, and in North Korea's official announcements.

Where is all of this heading? Unbelievably, you seem to be defending the second group's insane worldview.

In any case, my answer to the question the OP raises: probably. It is probably inevitable. The more people that have nuclear weapons, the more chance there is that, sooner or later, one hothead or another will nuke someone else. Unfortunately, this is just one genie that will never be forced back into her bottle...

[chronicpride]

I say that it'll likely take a catastrophic loss of life from a nuclear exchange between countries like Pakistan and India or something involving Israel, for the US to succumb to anti-nuke sentiment and greatly reduce its stockpile and vigorously enforce/engage non-compliant countries like NK and Iran. Kind of how the war on terror was galvanized by a traumatic event. Until that first nuclear blast happens, I don't think the issue will be taken as seriously as it needs to be.

[Hollywoodaction]

Am I the only one who's old enough here to have been taught in school to hide under tables in the event of a nuclear attack? China and Russia had hundreds of nukes aimed at us, and the government still felt the need to scare kids with such propaganda because people just didn't care. Shows you that North Korea with one nuke is probably not that big of a deal in the big scheme of things. The world is still turning and life goes on...as long as they don't start selling them to terrorists.

[Hyalucent]