Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Donald Trump: Japan, South Korea Might Need Nuclear Weapons

Donald Trump on Tuesday night defended his assertion that more countries, such as Japan, South Korea or even Saudi Arabia, may need to develop their own nuclear weapons.

"You have so many countries already -- China, Pakistan, you have so many countries, Russia -- you have so many countries right now that have them," Trump said in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin town hall televised by CNN. "Now, wouldn't you rather, in a certain sense, have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons?"

CNN moderator Anderson Cooper pointed out that it's been U.S. policy for decades to prevent Japan from getting a nuclear weapon. Trump responded, "Maybe it's going to have to be time to change, because so many people -- you have Pakistan has it, you have China has it. You have so many other countries are now having it."

Trump similarly suggested that Japan and South Korea should develop nuclear weaponry in an interview with the New York Times last week.

Although there are some libertarians who hold to the view that even individuals should have nuclear weapons, I am not in that camp.

In my view, the fewer nuclear weapons in the world the better.

-RW

(via CBS)

5 comments:

  1. "Although there are some libertarians who hold to the view that even individuals should have nuclear weapons, I am not in that camp."

    It is completely irrelevant whether you believe individuals should have nuclear weapons, or whether libertarians believe the same. Laws or rules do not prevent people from obtaining weapons for destructive purposes; economics does.

    Once it becomes economically feasible for individuals to own nuclear weapons, it won't be possible to stop them. It is highly likely that someday, individuals will be able to create and own nuclear weapons. Hopefully, there will also be some kind of defense against them whenever that occurs.

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    Replies
    1. Well it is not irrelevant now, since neither South Korea nor Japan have nuclear weapons. When the technology changes things will be different, but we are talking about the here and now not the theoretical future.

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    2. The comment quoted above was about individual nuclear-weapon ownership.

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  2. In your PPS, who is going to stop me making nukes?

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  3. I was going to pose a similar question. How does one say/enforce a "no nukes" policy in a PPS? If I can decide my own punishment in a PPS why not my own means to defense?

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