The idea that the Isrealis would blast off all their nukes against not just their immediate Arab neighbors but against most of the rest of the world, friend and foe alike, in a "burn it all down" scenario in the face of the loss of a conventional has it's own Wiki page.
The idea that the Isrealis would blast off all their nukes against not just their immediate Arab neighbors but against most of the rest of the world, friend and foe alike, in a "burn it all down" scenario in the face of the loss of a conventional has it's own Wiki page.
Thinking that the US has the ability to convince the Isrealis not to do it if they thought they were out of options is pretty naive, IMO.
The US has the ability to turn Israel into a cauterized charnel. So does Russia, China, the UK and France. I can't prove it, but I strongly suspect there are unpublicized agreements out there which hang like the Sword of Damocles over every nation threatening destruction on any nation that uses nukes unprovoked. Hence the restraint shown by India and Pakistan too.
It's an unwelcome truth when we're all so uncomfortable: that it's almost unbearable to think of things not changing, but even more awful to imagine what would come after. So as bad as things get there's a sustaining and enormous pressure in quiet corners to keep chugging along. It may make us mad but it's also something to be profoundly grateful for.
There's the Samson Option, though, as Dukeboy pointed out. That's the idea that, if Israel were to be eliminated, it would nuke a large number of Middle Eastern and European capitals first, to go out with a bang. This isn't some weird fantasy; in 2002, the LA Times published an article openly advocating this.
Presumably, however, in most Europe and Middle Eastern capitals, there must also be the foreseen Samson Option, i.e. that if Israel's existence is ever imperilled, it will be nuked so intensely that its forces cannot fire missiles.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Option
The idea that the Isrealis would blast off all their nukes against not just their immediate Arab neighbors but against most of the rest of the world, friend and foe alike, in a "burn it all down" scenario in the face of the loss of a conventional has it's own Wiki page.
Thinking that the US has the ability to convince the Isrealis not to do it if they thought they were out of options is pretty naive, IMO.
The US has the ability to turn Israel into a cauterized charnel. So does Russia, China, the UK and France. I can't prove it, but I strongly suspect there are unpublicized agreements out there which hang like the Sword of Damocles over every nation threatening destruction on any nation that uses nukes unprovoked. Hence the restraint shown by India and Pakistan too.
Sometimes I really like your posts.
I doubt North Korea is on that list.
It's an unwelcome truth when we're all so uncomfortable: that it's almost unbearable to think of things not changing, but even more awful to imagine what would come after. So as bad as things get there's a sustaining and enormous pressure in quiet corners to keep chugging along. It may make us mad but it's also something to be profoundly grateful for.
Carry on, we're British.
There's the Samson Option, though, as Dukeboy pointed out. That's the idea that, if Israel were to be eliminated, it would nuke a large number of Middle Eastern and European capitals first, to go out with a bang. This isn't some weird fantasy; in 2002, the LA Times published an article openly advocating this.
Presumably, however, in most Europe and Middle Eastern capitals, there must also be the foreseen Samson Option, i.e. that if Israel's existence is ever imperilled, it will be nuked so intensely that its forces cannot fire missiles.