Today, many people in the government seem to be convinced that Iran poses an imminent threat to the safety of the United States of America. If Iran were able to develop a nuclear device, they would almost certainly use this weapon against the US.
Or would they?
In today’s age of religious terrorism, were such terrorists able to get their hands on such a device, I would say that this fear is justified. People who are perfectly willing to blow themselves up for their beliefs would not think twice about using a nuclear device against their enemies. It is obvious that they do not care about the consequences to themselves, their family members and their country. To them, the end justifies the means.
But, is it not so that, unlike the above-mentioned terrorists, the leaders of countries such as Iran have little to gain and everything to lose by either using nuclear weapons, or supplying them to third party terrorists?
They would not use them for they know the response to such an attack. Right now, they have what basically every politician wants (i.e. power/control/money), and they’ll want to protect this. By using a nuclear device, they would lose everything. Their motivation is totally different from these religious terrorists, which are people who have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
Also, they would not supply a nuclear device to third party terrorists. First of all, all nuclear material can be traced in one way or the other, and eventually the trace would lead back to Iran. Second, they would never relinquish such awesome power to a group outside of their immediate control. It is one thing to supply terrorist organizations on a smaller scale with money and conventional arms. But when you start talking about nukes, the scale dramatically changes.
To countries like Iran, the real power of a nuclear device lies in its threat. It knows that the US is far less likely to attack them were they in possession of a nuclear device. (Think of North Korea)
This is an issue that’s been on my mind for a while now. I am not worried about us taking action, but I AM worried about us taking the wrong kind of action against Iran, and that having disastrous consequences.
That being said, I am most certainly NOT advocating that it is OK for Iran to get their hands on a nuke. Far from it.
I’d appreciate your thoughts on this subject. Do you think Iran is a danger, and if yes, what would be the best way of dealing with them?
Or would they?
In today’s age of religious terrorism, were such terrorists able to get their hands on such a device, I would say that this fear is justified. People who are perfectly willing to blow themselves up for their beliefs would not think twice about using a nuclear device against their enemies. It is obvious that they do not care about the consequences to themselves, their family members and their country. To them, the end justifies the means.
But, is it not so that, unlike the above-mentioned terrorists, the leaders of countries such as Iran have little to gain and everything to lose by either using nuclear weapons, or supplying them to third party terrorists?
They would not use them for they know the response to such an attack. Right now, they have what basically every politician wants (i.e. power/control/money), and they’ll want to protect this. By using a nuclear device, they would lose everything. Their motivation is totally different from these religious terrorists, which are people who have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
Also, they would not supply a nuclear device to third party terrorists. First of all, all nuclear material can be traced in one way or the other, and eventually the trace would lead back to Iran. Second, they would never relinquish such awesome power to a group outside of their immediate control. It is one thing to supply terrorist organizations on a smaller scale with money and conventional arms. But when you start talking about nukes, the scale dramatically changes.
To countries like Iran, the real power of a nuclear device lies in its threat. It knows that the US is far less likely to attack them were they in possession of a nuclear device. (Think of North Korea)
This is an issue that’s been on my mind for a while now. I am not worried about us taking action, but I AM worried about us taking the wrong kind of action against Iran, and that having disastrous consequences.
That being said, I am most certainly NOT advocating that it is OK for Iran to get their hands on a nuke. Far from it.
I’d appreciate your thoughts on this subject. Do you think Iran is a danger, and if yes, what would be the best way of dealing with them?