Friday, January 03, 2003

Japanese Nukes

A nice article summarizing why China really should help us prevent North Korea from getting nukes. And as I earlier noted, the funny thing is, North Korea has a conventional deterrence against us. The idea of nuclear deterrence is that you can inflict unacceptable damage against your foe to stop them from attacking. Shoot, in Somalia, 18 dead was enough for the American government. The point is the damage, not the means of death. North Korea can already turn Seoul into a ‘sea of fire,’ as they so quaintly and often put it, with conventional artillery. They could withhold their chemical weapons for a really special occasion. North Korea is pushing us for a capability that does not enhance their security. This failure to appreciate reality is what makes dealing with them so dangerous. Lord knows what they will interpret as a threat that requires them to attack first.

Let’s finish off Iraq, already.