How Stupid Do We Look?

The President of the United States thinks he can put mankind on the path to a world without nuclear weapons. Perhaps not in his lifetime, he says. Perhaps. But someday.

"I'm not naive," said the president, in what must have been the least accurate statement since I am not a carbon-based life form. He went on to describe how those with stockpiles would move toward multi-lateral disarmament while international cooperation would be strengthened to prevent the spread of new and existing technology.

The United States, of course, conveniently reserves the right to maintain a kick-ass deterrent capability until this nuke-free utopia makes good. And as long as there is a nuclear threat from Iran, we're going to keep that missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, thank you very much.

So it would appear to be an exercise in rhetorical excess, all this talk of total victory. The goal would be absolute non-proliferation. No sane person actually believes this can be achieved fully. One might as well try to rid the world of rainy days or backhanded compliments. Umbrellas can be distributed, early-intervention courses in etiquette conducted, but the fact will remain that rain falls and people are dicks.

Death, Blood, and Glory

Bibi Netanyahu, just hours before taking the helm of Israel's new coaltion government, told The Atlantic magazine that Israel might put a military stop to nuke production in Iran if the United States isn't going to do anything about it. Echoing my chief concern, the new prime minister said:

“You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs.”

No, Bibi, I sure as hell do not want that. That is the last thing I want. It is an actual danger. A mushroom cloud over Jerusalem courtesy of The Islamic Republic of Iran? Not so much. For once the religious miasma that hangs over the region sheds a bit of grace: although sacred to Jews and Christians, Jerusalem is far too holy a city in Islam also for any Muslim front to make it a glass parking lot, as one of Andrew Sullivan's readers points out. But Netanyahu, as if his remarks were not chilling enough already, goes on to say:

"When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran...

"Since the dawn of the nuclear age, we have not had a fanatic regime that might put its zealotry above its self-interest. People say that they’ll behave like any other nuclear power. Can you take the risk? Can you assume that?”

The prime minister sends a message to the president that he's going to be a hardass, whatever accomodationist kabuki the White House is committed to carrying out. I say let the Israelis take care of business. It was hardly the end for US/Israeli relations when Ronald Reagan condemned our ally's action against nuclear facilities in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. It would hardly be the death knell if this president parted company on virtually the same issue.