Nuclear Wake Up Call?
Posted on April 28, 2006
We all got a wake up call on September 11th, sadly many Americans have fallen back asleep. It was a beautiful thing to see how Americans joined together to show their best in one of America’s most terrible times. But as the years have passed, Americans have once again grown complacent, and lulled into a false sense of security. The ultra left, and naive pacifist attitudes are consistently infecting the minds of our youth, and attacking our government’s attempts to protect us. America is being attacked on many fronts. The decay of our moral fabric has caused many to turn a blind eye to the evil that takes place in our world. Noble concepts such as tolerance, and equality have cast their own dark shadows that cloud our common sense….leading us in the direction of repeating the mistakes of history, and into the dangerous territory of appeasment. Our enemies follow no rules, however as a civilized society we attempt to lead by example in our noble ideals, often tripping ourselves up in the process. Our common sense tells us that a little old granny is very unlikely to attempt carrying a bomb onto a plane, however in the name of equality she will be frisked. Common sense tells us that we should try to intercept communications from terror networks into the U.S., but noble cause of civil liberties is at odds with it.
The problem comes from both sides of the political aisle. Of course, no one wants to believe the nightmarish truth of the dangerous reality we live in. The left lead the way in opposing any effort from the Bush administration in efforts to protect us, often it seems just for the sake of opposing them. However, the bigger problem is that they never provide any reasonable alternative solutions. Many on the right are just as much to blame as they pander to the crying of the left.
We must weigh out how real and probable the threats are in this age of terror. We must adapt to the changing times in order to protect our great nation, and it will take unity in order to do so. One of the scariest threats we are facing in today’s times is the nuclear one, and how to deal with it has changed since the Cold War.
Yankee Sailor has written an excellent post on Nuclear detterence in the age of terrorism, which I urge you to read the entire piece. I will use a few quotes from his post.
Going forward into the 21st Century, however, a number of changes in the balance of nuclear power have resulted in doubts about the utility of current doctrines of nuclear deterrence. Today there are three major challenges to future nuclear deterrence: 1) the small nuclear forces of new atomic states, 2) anti-state or non-state actors, and 3) return of preventive war as an acceptable deterrence doctrine.
Yankee Sailor goes into depth on each point, but I mainly want to focus on the anti-state or non-state actors. How real is this threat, and how serious should we take it? In the case of Iran, the American left are rightly calling for cautious diplomacy. However, many factors complicate the possibility of diplomacy being successful with Iran. During the Cold War with Russia we were dealing with a nation that was at least reasonable enough that diplomacy could take a foothold. With Iran, we are talking about a mad man that thinks he is ushering in Armageddon. We are talking about someone that has said “Israel will be wiped off the face of the map.” If you have hopes that the UN and world community will be able to make a peaceful solution to this, you should also take note that Iran doesn’t give a damn.
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said no Security Council resolution could make Iran give up its nuclear program.
“The Iranian nation won’t give a damn about such useless resolutions,” Ahmadinejad told thousands of people Friday in Khorramdareh in northwestern Iran before the IAEA report was issued.
Another factor that can not be left out when putting your hopes into the UN is that Russia and China both have their own interests at heart, and to say it nicely…trusting either of these two Nations would be a gamble.
As irrational as Iran is, we may have time for diplomacy to work, and of course that is what we all hope for. Iran is organized, and it has its pressure points. I don’t know the answers in solving the situation with Iran, but for now we are all putting our hopes in diplomacy. However, if it fails, I have faith in our military.
The possibility of war with Iran is scary. An even scarier thought, however one we must consider, is if a nuclear device were to fall into the hands of a irrational non-state terrorist organization such as Al Qaeda. In this case, you can toss diplomacy completely out the window as America’s policy is that we do not negotiate with terrorists.
Yankee Sailor is on the same wavelenght:
Deterrence is based on reason, and while states are generally “rational actors”, terrorist organizations (essentially “anti-state” actors) are often “irrational actors.” States have stable political and military systems and organizations, with checks and balances, populations, territory and resources to protect, and have a vested interest in being rational and predictable. Anti-state actors, however, have none of these elements, usually possess radical political or religious ideologies, and often take pride in their unpredictability and willingness to escalate conflicts.
But how real is this threat?
WND are quoting a source, Hamid Mir, that says the threat is very real, and can be done at any time.
Al-Qaida has already obtained nuclear suitcase weapons from the Russian black market, weapons tested in Afghanistan in 2000, and they may have already been forward-deployed inside the U.S., according to the only journalist to interview Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in the wake of Sept. 11.
Of course this may be a bluff, and to many it may even come across outlandish, but it isn’t something that should be ignored. Don’t think too hard about just how possible it could be with our current border problems. If a nuke makes it into the US via loose border control, the GOP is done politically. By the way, don’t ignore that tie to Russia. And don’t ignore the following tie to Iran….The web of terror is a sticky and twisted thing.
Mir believes that an “American Hiroshima” will occur as soon as the U.S. launches an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“Al-Qaida and Iran,” he says, “have a long, secret relationship.” “American Hiroshima” is the name al-Qaida leaders chose for their long-planned nuclear attack on the U.S.
The relationship between Iran and bin Laden dates back to June 21, 1996, when bin Laden attended a terror summit in Tehran.
Mir’s position that al-Qaida’s nuclear weapons may have already been forward-deployed to the United States confirms the report of Sharif al-Masri, a key al-Qaida operative who was arrested in Pakistan in November 2000.
Al Masri, an Egyptian national with ties to al-Zawahiri, said that al-Qaida had made arrangements to smuggle nuclear weapons and supplies to Mexico. From Mexico, he said, the weapons were to be transported across the border and into the United States with the help of a Latino street gang.
You can write this guy off if you want to, but this information should not be ignored. Don’t let yourself be lulled into a false sense of security. If the information does turn out to be true, and America ignored it, like our intelligence did before 911, we will have to face it that we are partially to blame. When it comes to the borders, it isn’t only about poor Mexicans looking for jobs, its also about National Security. Mir’s claims may be a bluff, but they will be an inevitable reality if something meaningful is not done to secure our borders. Neither party is doing anything that America is asking for in securing our borders, and it will be these bickering, pandering politicians that will pay the price in the long run. We are facing dangerous times. Liberty, freedom, and our way of life is being threatened. If America wants these noble ideals to survive, we must wake up, and we must be united.
What is sad is that, so many have already made up their minds.
Also see: Hot Air
Atlass Shrugs
Indepundit
Protein Wisdom
Atlass Shrugs
» Filed Under News, War On Terror
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4 Responses to “Nuclear Wake Up Call?”
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With the premier of United Flight 93 today and the talk going along with it, I’m struck by the fact that the men on this plane saved the U.S. Capitol from being destroyed. They acted, and changed history in an immediate and meaningful way.
By no fault of the passengers on the other planes, the Twin Towers and the Pentagon attacks met different fates.
This movie, United Flight 93, is reminding us that we have to act. I believe this will be true for Iran, and it will eventually be true for China.
I posted on this earlier this morning and I think it’s a major concern, especially given the speed with which Iran is moving.
In regards to the movement of these nukes, is Iran on a timetable with them and is moving to catch up or keep pace? Or is Al-Qaeda assuming we will attack Iran and the quicker Iran moves, the quicker the attack can come?
We definately need to act on Iran, but we need to watch our own borders as well.
I believe you will find the New York State liberals are still concerned about their safety. The West Coast liberals just don’t take an attack in New York that personal. I am pretty sure you will see an attitude adjustment if Los Angeles or Hollywood become a target.
Iran has promised to nuke Israel, and promised to attack anyone who tries to stop them. Like the united 93 passengers, do we really have a choice?