"Rob van Riel" wrote in message
om...
"Blair Maynard" wrote in message
.. .
So you are saying that the current administration is being very bad
because
it is "intimidating" other nations with nukes everybody knows it can't
use?

Kinda difficult to believe.

Not really. It is my opinion that using nukes would produce a terrible
backlash against the US. Not everyone shares that view, and the US
might consider it worth the price even if it were commonly accepted.

Well, of course there is always a threat of a "stupid" use of nuclear
weapons. It sounds like you are saying that countries will act in fear of
nuclear destruction because they might believe the US would be "stupid"
enough to use them (and suffer the obvious negative worldwide backlash).

Of course that is a possibility any country would have to consider, they
might become a martyr to turn world opinion against the US.

But the "stupidity card" goes both ways. As illustrated by events over the
last fifty years. Plenty of nations have volunteered to be the martyrs, and
the US has not played it's "stupidity card" and made them such.

I see more "stupidity" all over the world than in US foreign policy. Would
you rather trust all nations in the world not to be "stupid" or just the US
and other countries in the current "nuclear club"?

That's one hell of a risk to take. It's going to be a bit difficult to
enjoy the backlash effects while permanetly fused to a molten country
(I know, that's exagerating the effects of nuclear attack, but you get
the idea)

In any case, how do you know it is not the threat of conventional force
which is "intimidating" other nations?

It's part of the total package. What the US seems to be saying, is
that it will use conventional force only, unless the opponent of the
day does something it really doesn't like, in which case it will go
nuclear. Being sufficiently successful against the US itself (not US
troops) definately seems to be a criterion these days. Of course, it
is rather unlikely that any single nation could be that effective in
the current situation.

Rob