Barbarians at the Gate*
…OR why former U.S. Air Force Secretary Thomas Reed is just plain wrong. From an otherwise illuminating interview of Thomas Reed in US News and World Report, comes this remarkable statement:
The world is safer for having all the permanent UN Security Council members possess nuclear weapons (but)
I think having North Korea, Pakistan, and India (possessing nuclear weapons) is probably not a good idea.
I am too stunned to comment.
But the interview does have some interesting bits. In particular, read below about Pakistan’s covert nuclearisation programme and how it was supported by the Chinese:
Why , as you say in the book, did the Chinese give the technology to Pakistan?
Pakistan can be explained by a balance of power: India was China’s enemy and Pakistan was India’s enemy. The Chinese did a massive training of Pakistani scientists, (just like the Russians had done for them) brought them to China for lectures, even gave them the design of the CHIC-4 device, which was a weapon that was easy to build a model for export….
Did the Chinese further assist in the Pakistan program?
Under Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto, the country built its first functioning nuclear weapon. We believe that during Bhutto’s term in office, the People’s Republic of China tested Pakistan’s first bomb for her in 1990…That’s why the Pakistanis were so quick to respond to the Indian nuclear tests in 1998. It only took them two weeks and three days. When the Soviet Union took the United States by surprise with a test in 1961, it took the U.S. seventeen days to prepare and test, a device that had been on hand for years. The Pakistani response makes it clear that the gadget tested in May 1998 was a carefully engineered device in which they had great confidence.
Thanks to Ashok-ji for alerting me to this.
Related Posts:
The Pakistan connection to North Korea’s nuclear test
A double standard at the UN A double standard at the UN
Also read: Nuclear disarmament? Great idea… by Nitin (over at The Acorn)
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* Title Courtesy: Bryan Burrough and John Helyar (with apologies)
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This represents a typical case of eurocentric bias. The western powers cannot digest the fact that non-western countries are now rivaling them in terms of military strength and economic development.
As far as I know, an overwhelming majority of westerners have always tried to overlook non-western advancement in every field, presently and historically. The ‘Aryan Invasion Theory’ is an example.
Regarding China and Pakistan, I’d like to share this video
An implement that can cause only death and destruction is now a status symbol for us.
The Feringhis’ bias is obvious, us uncultured Indians and dogs are not permitted to enter a club meant for gentlemen. Naturally, it would be a waste of money, we Orientals would never be able to use it as blythely as Uncle Sam did. Though it is indeed a point to ponder – would they have nuked the Japs if they had been white instead of yellow slant-eyed gooks?
Before we castigate them, should we not remember the scenes of rejoicing in our own country after Pokharan? Pakistan followed suit to keep up with the Joneses. Greater rejoicing. If the respective Prime Ministers had proclaimed (truthfully) the eradication of poverty and suffering from either country, they would not have got half the plaudits.
I remember reading a Unicef study which said that the cost of meeting all the needs of the world’s children was US$ 34 billion. As against that,
Expenditure on wine ===US$ 85 billions
Expenditure on beer ===US$ 160 billions
Expenditure on cigarettes ===US$ 400 billions
Expenditure on armaments ===US$ 800 billions
The data is old – just the US share of the world armaments trade (app.70%) is a trillion dollars now. Updated data would only be more horrific.
Viva le nationalisme!
Each species, it is said has a destruct button wired into its genes which allows it to die off after its evolutionary role is complete. The other species die off like gentlemen, bothering no one. We seem to be the destruct button for the earth.
This is not good news at all: Why AQ Khan Should Not Be Free by B Raman