From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@yahoo.com)
Date: Fri Jan 31 2003 - 20:58:38 MST
--- avatar <avatar@renegadeclothing.com.au> wrote:
> So far as it goes the "reins" of "power" are held by the elites in
> the US
> and Russia, since they hold 95% of the atomic weapons. The European
> elite
> holds about 2.3% of "power" and the remaining 2.7% is divided between
> China
> and Israel. I may not agree with the above, but this is the current
> reality.
> And unfortunately it is not "ultimate" power, it is power per se.
Thus perpetuating the myth that owning nuclear weapons gives one power.
It is a noose, not a gun, which one builds for oneself. Militarily,
nukes are entirely useless as weapons. They are instruments of
politics, of no military utility.
As such, they are good for little more than sublimated collective
scrotal stroking (and causing testicular retractions in your enemies).
They are quite useful for Orion class spaceships, though.
The 'elites' in the US and europe do not hold power over their
electorates via threat of nuking uppity citizens, so your point is
quite wrong. Globally, our ownership of nukes is only useful in holding
at bay other nuke owners from insane courses of action.
This is assuming that a nuke owner is capable of sane courses of
action, which in the case of Iraq and North Korea, is very much in
doubt.
I'd like also to note that there are now 8 european nations which have
pledged support for the US strategy, leaving poor little France and
Germany increasingly isolated, with only those nations that practice
neutrality to play with. Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Czech
Republic, Albania, Slovakia, and Britain. Now, Spain's military is
nothing to sneeze at. The F-18s they've been buying from us for years
puts their air force years ahead of the antiquated and beastly Tornados
that France and Germany are saddled with. Britain has been improving
the last decade, and Italy is no slouch either. Bulgaria and Hungary
also express support for the US.
=====
Mike Lorrey
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
- Gen. John Stark
"Pacifists are Objectively Pro-Fascist." - George Orwell
"Treason doth never Prosper. What is the Reason?
For if it Prosper, none Dare call it Treason..." - Ovid
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