Posted on 12/03/2004 11:00:39 PM PST by ChristianDefender
Back in the days of the Cold War, the U.S. had a nuclear-weapons doctrine called Mutual Assured Destruction, or MAD for short. This doctrine held that if the U.S. were attacked with weapons of mass destruction, or WMD, we would immediately and without debate counter-attack the homeland of the perpetrator in such a way and with such overwhelming nuclear force as to make the cost of the initial attack too much to bear.
For instance, if the Soviet Union or the Chinese would have attacked us with WMD in the Cold War, we would have counter-attacked at the very least by destroying their 100 largest cities. The theory was that once you have destroyed the 100 largest cities of any society, even an evil empire, that society effectively ceases to exist, perhaps for several generations, thus deterring any WMD attack. Variations of this same nuclear doctrine were held by our Cold War allies and advisories, including the evil empire.
Although gruesome sounding, the beauty of MAD is that it worked. Even though both the U.S. and the Soviet Union were armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons, none was ever used. In fact, both sides went to great lengths to establish hardened and redundant command, communication and control systems to prevent the accidental or unauthorized launch of nuclear weapons, fearing the dire consequences.
The primary reason MAD worked is because it was simple and unambiguous. Both sides let the other side know in no uncertain terms that a nuclear first strike would be followed immediately by an overwhelming nuclear counter-strike destroying the heartland, culture and society of the attacker. This was a price even the most evil 20th century dictators would not even contemplate.
We now have a new enemy, Islamic terrorism, hellbent to either enslave or destroy us. This enemy is in many ways much harder to cope with than an evil empire. It does not have an army, an economy, an infrastructure, a capital or a state to attack. This enemy refuses to show itself on the field of battle so we can destroy it with our superior weapons and tactics.
However, Islamic terrorism could not exist if it did not enjoy comfort, support and succor from the Islamic societies from which its members are recruited. Besides the overt state support from Syria, Iran, pre-invasion Iraq, Libya, Sudan, North Korea, etc., this enemy also enjoys popular support in Islamic states. The popular support of the terrorists is much larger than it is politically correct to discuss in most forums in the West. But, does anyone doubt that bin Laden would be elected dictator-for-life in Saudi Arabia if that nation had free elections? Let's not allow political correctness to blind us or kill us. The terrorists are merely an extreme form of widespread corruption, totalitarianism and venality prevalent in Islamic states and societies worldwide.
Now, here is the urgent problem. The Islamic terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons to destroy us. If and when they acquire a nuclear weapon with the help of their state sponsors, they will use it in the U.S. homeland without warning. Can you imagine the effect of just one nuclear weapon being detonated in New York or Washington? In addition to the initial horrific destruction and casualties, the U.S. economy and perhaps the world economy would go into a depression that would make the Great Depression seem like Sunday school. Investment would stop for fear of further nuclear attacks. If they have one, maybe they have more? Our wealth would be dramatically reduced, and the economy would be in chaos for at least a generation. The American way of life would be dramatically altered, perhaps permanently. In short, the Islamic terrorists would win.
The stakes are as high as can be, and our current strategy of planting democracy in the Middle East may work too slowly or not work at all. How do we prevent that first nuclear attack and mobilize the world, even the Islamic societies, against the terrorists' nuclear ambitions? We need a new nuclear doctrine that puts everybody's skin in the game. We need a new nuclear doctrine that places the American people, the American society, the American economy and the American way of life far above politeness and political correctness.
I propose that the U.S. immediately adopt and publish the following nuclear doctrine:
In the event of a WMD attack by terrorists on the U.S. homeland or U.S. military facilities overseas, the U.S will immediately and without discussion use its immense nuclear weapons capabilities to destroy the 100 largest Islamic cities on earth, regardless of state, and destroy all of the military facilities of Islamic-dominated states. This will include all of the capitals and at least the 10 largest cities of all Islamic-dominated states and the "holy" cities of Mecca and Medina. In addition, North Korean cities and military installations will be destroyed. Now suddenly everybody from Casablanca, Cairo, Damascus, Riyadh, Tehran, Islamabad, Pyongyang and Jakarta have skin in the game. The last thing they want would be a WMD attack on the U.S. It would mean certain destruction of their societies. They might even be motivated to actually and feverishly work against Islamic terrorism instead of the tepid lip service they currently give. Those "freedom fighters" currently being cheered in the streets would be transformed to deadly threats in the very societies that spawned them.
The beauty of this doctrine is that it encourages the 1.2 billion Muslims to actually prove that they are adherents to a "religion of peace," and it holds all Islamic states and North Korea accountable for their behavior. If you don't want your cities on the target list, you have to earn your way off the list. Give us the head of bin Laden on a stick, and you may get a pass. Shut down your nuclear programs in an open and verifiable way, and you can earn your way off the target list.
Another advantage of this doctrine is that it doesn't cost a nickel. We have the necessary weapons and delivery systems in place. This would only require a fraction of our existing nuclear warheads. I presume the platform of choice would be Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines patrolling the Indian Ocean.
Of course, the hand wringers, peaceniks and leftist elites would shout and scream bloody murder about how aggressive, unfair and politically incorrect this doctrine appears. However, I believe it would accomplish the same thing as MAD – namely, the successful deterrence of nuclear holocaust. All we need is the will to declare it.
You are correct, and it is sad that we are sacrificing good troops for PC BS. This alone is grounds for an impeachment hearing. Okay, perhaps nuking Fallujah would have been a bit over the top, but an occasional B52 flyover with an accompanying rain of steel would have been easily warranted.
Yeah, but how many Tokyo and Hiroshima residents were really hardcore Shinto emperor types? Yep we burned/nuked them to the ground.
There's a way to win wars, and then there's the PC way to lose.
Not impeachment. Bush is just doing all he can. Sadly our society is so weak (look at this thread) that we just can't defeat our enemy anymore.
Ahh, you see, he didn't say pEACE, but a similar sounding word starting with p ssss
The second wave to anyone that complains.
Wait a year and they will be stronger. Wait 25
or even only 10 years and it may be to late
for Western Civilization.
This sounds extreme to many but these are
madmen that think their god wants us all dead.
Extreme force or no force. You don't just
"bomb an aspirin factory." If you bomb at all,
you must obliterate the memory that an aspirin
factory could have ever existed.
Too much.
Established U.S. defense policy states that any use of a weapon of mass destruction is equivalent of any other use of a WMD. Thus, standing U.S. military doctrine dictates a scaled nuclear response to any chemical, biological or nuclear attack on the US or its interests.
That doctrine is at least 30 years old and is more than enough.
See my tagline. I am so deadly serious.
As I said -- just nuke Mecca and Medina.
We can drill through radioactive glass.
"An eye for an eye, perhaps ten eyes for an eye, but certainly not a thousand eyes for each eye.
Not right. Immoral. Plain and simple."
Assume it is agreed that hitting ALL muslim nations is immoral, as a response to a big hit.
Further assume we can fairly quickly determine the source(s) of such a hit. By sources, I mean like we determined 9/11/2001 originated from al Qaeda, which had an anchor in Afghanistan.
Further, it came out that the individuals came from certain countries, principally Saudi Arabia, for example.
I should hope we have put ALL nations on notice that we will use overwhelming force to respond to any hit, to include nulear force never before used.
I don't buy into the notion that Saudi Arabia is not held responsible for actions of its subjects, who wander off to Afghanistan, for example. Same for other places.
I would guess such threats of retaliation have been circulated, where they need to be.
The real big question is: What would the President in office, at the time, actually do?
Bush = fire away, perhaps
Kerry = call Kofi, convene UNSC
UNSC = Five permanent members, plus ten korrupt guys in kaftans.
Would you have called Kennedy's statement that an attack from Cuba would mean the destruction of the USSR 'too much'?
It saved us. We need a full deterent now. We need the islamic world to know that any nuclear attack against the USA by any islamic representative will mean the destruction of the islamic world in full. Otherwise, we're just sitting ducks.
I know the islamic world is suicidal, but.. At least we can say 'yeah, they nuked us and wrecked the USA.. But we acted afterwards to eliminate that threat.'
Frankly, I say we need to eliminate the threat before the bright flashes. But, we won't. Like we didn't before the embasies or cole or 9/11.
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