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this was posted to another thread, but as this seems to be the new venue for discussing the use of nuclear weaponry, i reproduce it here.
i talk mostly about america, and also cover biological weaponry.
i'll leave it as it is, and will ask for an edit later on depending on which way the topic goes.
as here:
i'm not willing to accept that the entire american populace can be characterised too simply, but i would like to examine the belief expressed by dragon that america is a country unlikely to use nuclear and biological weapons mostly based, it seems, on hir belief that the Use of such a weapon is not in [america's] philosophy.
as the only nation on earth to have thrown nuclear bombs at a civilian poulation as a tactic of war, i think it is fair to say that they have precedent.
people can do horrific things.
to suggest that americans would not be just like people and do horrific things is, i think, ridiculous.
even if they had not already perpetrated one of the greatest atrocities of the 20th century, i think it would still be ludicrous to assume that they necessarily would not.
i think that to have the impression of your own country as a nation apart is dangerous, and i wonder how many americans share this self-conception of dragon's.
the american populace is often characterised in the media of other nations as being out of touch and unaware of it's own footprint on the world. the idea that americans arent able to find most countries on a map, let alone tell you what their own nation is doing to them is a common one.
i wonder how true this view of americans is in general, how much the population is blithely unaware of their own nation's history of aggression and intervention.
(clearly other countries are just as bad in lots of ways.
america is just people, and people are bad.
the only difference i see with america is that historical accident has led them to a place where they have a higher capability for destruction than most, and more political room to use it.)
quantum linked to this article over in conversation, and i think it might be of use to anyone who has read what i have just written as unrealistic.
some more links that may be of interest;
the nuclear wepaon archive
death by american bombing and other democicide
and from the same source
was world war II
american urban bombing
democide?
"from george washington to george bush, biological weapons have been part of american history"
US army plans to bulk-buy anthrax, despite the fact that under the terms of the [Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction], the parties[,including america,] undertake not to develop, produce, stockpile, or acquire biological agents or toxins "of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective, and other peaceful purposes," as well as weapons and means of delivery.
i can see how you might think otherwise, because In January 1976, all heads of Federal departments and agencies certified to the President that as of December 26, 1975, their respective departments and agencies were in full compliance with the convention.
it appears they have had a change of heart.
THE US biological warfare and biological defense programs (PDF) |
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