[ExI] The Nuclear Huns

[Stefano Vaj]

On Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 9:52 AM, Lee Corbin <lcorbin at rawbw.com> wrote:
> Stefano writes
>
>> The problem many people on this list have is that they take the US
>> point of view, even a nationalistic US point of view, for granted.
>
> That's your perception, eh? Not mine. I feel like I'm definitely
> in a minority position if I speak up for the *relatively*-good guys.

Let me say that I am sympathetic with the position of an American
proud to be one and without qualms in furthering what he perceives as
the interests of his own country and community and people, perhaps
along to that of countries that he perceives as allies or cultural and
political cousins.

What I offered before is an exercise in perspective. It is by no means
necessary that what corresponds to the best interest of the US of A,
or supposedly of the "West", automatically corresponds to that of the
governments of the rest of the world, or even the peoples of the rest
of the world. And if America is conditioned to some extent - not
really a large extent, IMHO, in comparison, say, to Europe - by moral
weakness or scrupules or fear, the fact that other countries are
willing to play chicken can only be expected.

The USA themselves played chicken with success with the URSS during
the Cuban crisis. And of course, the ability to make the Russians
seriously believe that its leadership would have been crazy enough to
unleash a nuclear apocalypse  to protect its political interest and
long-term independence was key in that success (in fact, Rees goes as
far as maintaining that in hindsight it was a very crazy stunt, which
cannot be retrospectively justified only because of its positive
outcome, on the tune of "better red than dead").

Now, North Korea is a poor, desperate, politically marginalised
country. This may or may not be the responsibility of its leadership,
of the fate, or of evil capitalism, but at the end of the day this is
the reality. Realising that threatening to develop nuclear weapons,
rather than worsening its situation as the common wisdom would go, was
a way to play at best whatever weak cards it had was brilliant, IMHO.

Even if they really accepted a bribe and were honest in honouring a
commitment not to develop them in the future, they still would make
more out of it than by declaring bankrutpcy and throwing themselves to
the mercy of the international community.

Stefano Vaj