from an Agence France Presse report:
A new draft US defense paper calls for preventive nuclear strikes against state and non-state adversaries in order to deter them from using weapons of mass destruction and urges US troops to "prepare to use nuclear weapons effectively."Wait, it's not as bad as it sounds...
The document, titled 'Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations' and dated March 15, was put together by the Pentagon's Joint Staff in at attempt to adapt current procedures to the fast-changing world after the September 11, 2001, attacks, said a defense official.
But the official, who spoke to AFP late Saturday on condition of anonymity, said it has not yet been signed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and thus has not been made official policy.Never mind.
"It's in the process of being considered," the official said.
This is despicable. It's like we're looking for a reason to return to the height of the Cold War, a reason to live just the push of a button away from annihilation. Our government leaders spend so much time and energy decrying those who seek nuclear weapons (think North Korea and Iran) as lunatics. Isn't it lunacy to draw up a policy that gives at least eight different excuses for setting the world on a path of utter destruction? What makes our leaders think, once a nuclear weapon is deployed, that no one will strike back? That no one will say, enough is enough, America is too proud? Because it wouldn't take much, in nuclear terms, for a rapid and devastating response. Under nuclear threat, Gandhi's wisdom needs a bit of an update: "A nuclear bomb for a nuclear bomb, and the whole world is a wasteland."
The article ends with the following comment - which I would love to hear more about because it sounds like baloney to me:
The doctrine reminds that while first use of nuclear weapons may draw condemnation, "no customary or conventional international law prohibits nations from employing nuclear weapons in armed conflict."
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