On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 20:16:20 -0600, you wrote: >On Thu, Feb 10, 2005 at 06:56:44PM -0600, Rebecca <rct9911 at comcast.net> wrote: >> From: "Matthew Hunter" <matthew at infodancer.org> >> >North Korea has just announced that they have nuclear weapons. >> >In my opinion, they are not useful; they are a threat. If we >> >leave tinpot dictatorships alone long enough, they will do >> >exactly this. If we leave Iran alone long enough, they will do >> >this. (Listen closely to the negotiations with "old Europe" on >> >the Iran front; note how Iran is playing for time; note how >> >"containment" is likely to result in a Muslim nuclear power). >> Do exactly - what? Develop nuclear weapons? How does that make them any >> more of a threat than, say, the United States? > >If you cannot understand the difference between Iran and the >United States, you are beyond hope. Seriously. The US has its >flaws, but I'm not inclined to wait until an Iranian nuke >detonates in New York to take preventative action. > How many nations has Iran overthrown or invaded in the past 4 years? >> If I were a developing nation in a troubled region, I >> would certainly want some nuclear power, if only to protect me from what >> the big guns like the U.S. and its various cronies might do to me. > >Y'know, I would too. But while I believe nuclear proliferation >is inevitable in the long run, I prefer to put it off as long as >possible. And insofar as it is possible, I would prefer to keep >those weapons out of the hands of people likely to either use >them, or give them to terrorists (who would certainly use them). > >North Korea has explicitly threatened to export it's >claimed nuclear weapons. > >http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107686.html >---- >During talks with China and the U.S. in April, North Korea >announced that it had already produced nuclear weapons and >threatened to test or export them. > >Kim has regularly used threats and hostile acts to try to wring >aid from the international community... > >The International Atomic Energy Agency announced in May 2004 that >is has strong evidence that North Korea supplied Libya with about >two tons of uranium. If true, this would indicate that North >Korea has moved beyond selling missile technology. >---- And the biggest supplier of nuclear technology in the past few years has been our good buddy Pakistan. Dr. AQ Khan, to be precise, who we have decided isn't to be held to any account, because Pakistan is such a good friend to us.