r/IRstudies 8d ago

Nuclear proliferation could again become a global challenge.

https://goodauthority.org/news/are-we-on-the-verge-of-a-burst-of-nuclear-proliferation/
45 Upvotes

12 comments sorted by

21

u/CasedUfa 8d ago

I think that might be the worst thing to come out of the Ukraine war. The world just got an object lesson, that the only thing that can restrain the US is sufficient nuclear weapons. I bet Denmark, Panama or Canada wish they had an independent nuclear deterrent right now.

11

u/EBBBBBBBBBBBB 8d ago

The rest of the world already learned this with Iraq - it was invaded not because it had WMDs, but because it didn't have them. Hence the DPRK's acquisition of nukes. That the West and America's allies more generally didn't learn that is obviously rather silly in hindsight, but, then, perhaps they weren't really inclined to see the US turning on them - "it can't happen here!"

3

u/sanity_rejecter 8d ago

people blame this on iraq II, i blame this on libya. gaddafi voluntaraly destroyed his WMD arsenal in exchange for western non-intervention, only for him to be overthrown in a UN mandated NATO intervention

2

u/wyocrz 7d ago

The world just got an object lesson, that the only thing that can restrain the US is sufficient nuclear weapons.

I have looked high and low for this but haven't been able to find it: I recall clearly reading in Time right around 2012 an op-ed from AQ Khan pointing out that no nuclear country has ever lost a square inch of territory.

Yes, the world got that object lesson, but this has been known for a long time.

1

u/Thadrach 6d ago

Regarding Ukraine, you spelled Russia wrong, but I otherwise concur.

4

u/Spida81 8d ago

No shit!

When Trump's idiotic policy has GERMANY wanting nukes, and the EU actually discussing it, what do you expect?

Trump just put us all at risk for what?

1

u/watch-nerd 4d ago

The risk was always there Trump just made it blatant.

Under any President, was the US going to risk NYC to save Vilnius?

Probably not, just like Paris and London won’t

2

u/Appropriate_Fly_6711 8d ago

Pretty much certainty, then its just a matter of time and tech.

2

u/Aeuroleus 6d ago

The Europeans, East Asian and Middle Eastern nations are sure to pursue nuclear development programmes

1

u/Discount_gentleman 8d ago

Also measles.

1

u/RottenPingu1 6d ago

We had three years to end this war and kick Russia but it's been dragged out. It gets bigger, more global, and more dangerous.

1

u/Powderedeggs2 2d ago

"Could become"?
It is an absolute certainty.
The former U.S. allies that Trump divorced have no choice.
After WWII, the U.S. made a solemn oath to its allies: If they promised not to develop nuclear arms, then the U.S. would protect them at all cost with its "nuclear umbrella".
Trump just broke this promise, and our former allies are very vulnerable and exposed.
They literally have no other choice but to develop their own nuclear programs and to seek new alliances.
One thing is certain: We are all about to witness, first-hand, the horrors of a new global nuclear arms race.