This is a much bigger issue than most people realize. By exposing such stark limits to the American ability to use conventional military power, every rogue regime in the world knows we could destroy them if we had to, but we are very unlikely to act otherwise since our conventional military is stretched to the breaking point along with our budgets and Bush's political room to maneuver.
Well, in addition, I gather from my own reading, that many state actors, certainly including the Iranians and the North Koreans and, no doubt, others, conclude that one of the better ways to back off the US is to acquire nuclear weapons.
Huge incentive. A threat based foreign policy, such as the present US one, works so long as the object of the threat has no nukes; no longer looks effective once the object obtains them.
That, apparently, is the calculation afoot. |
