Something to fear - Five idiots to Midnight!

USA - Reported in the Washington Post today, was that the USA is going to pass a bill allowing them to use nuclear weapons in pre-emptive strikes. Anyone else feeling a little scared by this bill? There is a reason why the Police do not have 'pre-emptive' powers against people, and why most nations don't allow pre-emptive strikes on other nations. It's because 'Pre-emption' normally means that 'you think' they are going to do something, so you get in first! The fact is, we can't read minds, and we don't actually know if things will happen! Think of all the times during the cold war when there were build ups of arms on boarders and the world was at the brink ... but diplomacy pulled us back, just in time. With this policy, there may not be a 'just in time'. Things will build, and build. Rather than waiting to see what ACTUALLY happens, now there will be a, 'Let's attack now! Before they get the first shot in!' It's the old joke: General Public: When did this war start? President: It started when they hit us back! With the opposing nations also knowing of the US 'pre-emptive strike' policy, they probably won't wait either anymore! They know the US will strike ASAP, and so they'll just strike! The difference being, now the political grandstanding and diplomacy phases have been removed! Wasn't 'pre-emption' what got the British police in trouble recently? Look a bit foreign, wear a napsack or coat, run a little, get shot! After all, it's what they THINK you might do that gets you shot or in trouble, not what you are actually doing. I worry too, that the article says they will use the nukes against terrorists! Terrorists are usually mixed in with the populations of countries. It's not like are all in one town, or one city. [Next exit Terrorist City 1km]. If they were, they'd be easy to combat! No, they mix in with the general population, look like us, and seem as normal as possible. Next time a tube station gets attack, is the US going to drop a nuke on London to get rid of the terrorists? Terrorism involves a different sort of warfare. Nuking large parts of the general population just doesn't work. Intelligence is needed, and pin pointing individuals. If a terrorist training camp is found, surely the new smart bombs are enough to take it out, without spreading nuclear contamination on the face of the earth (and through the air we breath!) Weeding out terrorists and terrorist cells is more like getting rid of termites! You don't demolish a house just because it has a small termite infestation in the roof. You go in, spray for termintes, then remove the damaged wood and replace it with good wood! The majority of the world aren't terrorists! Even in nations which harbour and support terrorism, there is still a large amount of the population who are normal people and want to live in peace. (Sure, they can't do much about the terrorists in their neighbourhood, because if they speak out, they'd get shot!) There is also another problem! What is there to stop the US from just walking in anywhere? It smacks of Hitler's war against Poland and Czechslovakia. Germany annexing the Czech's and attacking the Poles were made out to be strikes by Germany to keep it's boarders safe from supposedly hostile neighbours. There was a reason it only took one month to take out Poland! They weren't ready for a war. If they really were the aggressive neighbours, there would have been a build up of forces and Poland would have lasted a lot longer. Possibly long enough for the British and French to have at least got a better defense together, rather than the half cocked effort that was thrown together. I remember a poll taken before the Iraq war, where American's were amazed that 95% of the rest of the world thought that GW Bush would be the next person to start a war ... that 95% of people were RIGHT! If we took a poll now for America to see what the rest of the world thinks about the 'Pre-emptive' policy, would they listen to us? I would be happy to hear what the polls in the US are saying as well. Why is nuking a nation into a boiling pot of lava before they are a threat to anyone a good thing?