kinglear#1 wrote:I'd bleeding worry if Japan had THE BOMB. Remember what they did during WWII? How things change. I wouldn't forget "The Knights of Bushido" or The Rape of Nanjing. What, I beg to ask, is "a Failed State"?
Pakistan represents itself. As do most other States, countries, Principalities or whatever you want to call them.
I would not worry about Japan getting a nuke. I have had discussions with Japanese people on this very matter. Many held that nukes are immoral and ought not to be used. Many also stated that they feared the mere presence of such weapons. As far as I can tell, the Japanese's experience of the horrors of atomic warfare make them the nation most likely to be responsible in having them.
Pakistan is a failed state. The rule of law does not cover large segments of their population. Their intelligence agencies (e.g., the ISI) are not controlled by civillian leadership, and they promote global terror: see their actions in Afghanistan and India, for example. Likewise, the Pakistani Army is not controlled by the civillian leadership. Any attempt to claim that Pakistan has sound democratic institutions is laughable. Without US economic support, Pakistan would finally implode. Now that they have the bomb, they have a much stronger position vis a vis other nations. They can promote terror, undermine regional stability, and engage in extremely provocative behavior with their peaceful neighbors, such as India. Were it the case that they did not have a bomb, they would not have the capacity to continue such behavior.
If Iran did get nuclear weapons capability, then their status in the region would mirror that of Pakistan. Iran would be able to engage in state sponsored terrorism with impunity, bully/undermine their neighbors. Further, it would make any regime change (either due to internal or external pressure) far more dangerous. Seeing that Iran is an existential threat to Israel, it is in Israel's interest (and our's for that matter) to forestall Iran's nuclear ambitions.
That's right. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.