MAD wasn't mad
Scheuer has pointed out that the Bush approach to terrorism is based on a Cold War model, in which we focus mainly on trying to eliminate the weapons without asking honestly how we would eliminate the enemy's reason and will to fight. He correctly states that focusing on the tools is a stupid leftist mindset, forced by the idiotic egalitarian notion that all people are equally good. When you look at humans honestly and accurately, you can distinguish easily between the evil ones who will always find a way to destroy others, versus the normal folks who don't have a destructive compulsion. Same with nations.

Scheuer also points out that Mutually Assured Destruction worked well for 30 years in preventing any direct attacks on either US or USSR.

I'm wondering now whether Scheuer has failed to complete the syllogism.

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Caution: I'm not entirely convinced by my own argument here, but think it's worth recording and thinking about.

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Completing the syllogism: We are using a cold-war mindset, but we're not using the part of the mindset that worked. In fact, we're using the Soviet-propaganda side of the cold war, the McGovern side, the hippie side. We're advocating disarmament.

What should we do instead? Simple. Follow the data. Since MAD worked well, we shouldn't be trying to eliminate nukes in the rest of the world. We should be trying to create balances of nuclear armament in the rest of the world.

Consider the school-shooter problem for analogy. Until very recently, all reputable (i.e. Communist) commentators instantly and loudly shouted "THAT'S CRAZY" when someone suggested that shootings could be prevented by arming the rest of the students and teachers. Even though history, facts and logic showed irrefutably that armed bystanders could and would stop an armed criminal, the instinctive leftist "THAT'S CRAZY" was unbreakable. Finally in the last year or so, sanity is just beginning to emerge; the McCainstream Media are starting to ask the common-sense question. Sanity has already taken partial hold in aircraft safety as well; while TSA continues to waste money and time on demonstrably useless screening, a large number of pilots have been permitted to carry guns.

Returning to the big picture: We should allow all countries to go nuclear if they wish. Even crazy people behave better when they know their neighbors are armed, and owning a gun tends to make silly people grow up. Look at Dear Leader Kim for a good example. His propaganda still sounds the same, but under the surface he's allowing capitalism and Christian missionaries to move in.

One important reservation: We really need to demonstrate our own will beforehand. We still need to turn Mecca and Medina into lovely uninhabitable pools of ionized silicon. Otherwise, the change in policy would simply be an invitation to attack us.
  ¶ 11:31 AM