Re Nuclear expert Alex Wellerstein on North Korea and other threats

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Herb Lin <herblin () stanford edu>
> Date: August 11, 2017 at 12:36:57 PM EDT
> To: "dave () farber net" <dave () farber net>, ip <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: RE: [IP] Nuclear expert Alex Wellerstein on North Korea and other threats
>
> My guess is that the military leaders around him are all going to tell him to NOT use nukes.  That is, they will be 
> the ones trying to *restrain* him rather than the ones egging him on.
>  
> =======================================================================
> Herb Lin
> Senior Research Scholar, Center for International Security and Cooperation
> Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and Security, Hoover Institution
> Stanford University
> Stanford, CA  94305  USA
> herblin () stanford edu
> 650-497-8600 office || 202-841-0525 cell || 202-540-9878 fax
> AIM herblin (any time you see me)
> Skype herbert_lin (usually by appointment)
> Twitter @HerbLinCyber
> #safetypin
>  
> From: Dave Farber [mailto:farber () gmail com] 
> Sent: August 11, 2017 9:03 AM
> To: ip <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: [IP] Nuclear expert Alex Wellerstein on North Korea and other threats
>  
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: John Horgan <jhorgan () stevens edu>
> Date: August 11, 2017 at 10:13:20 AM EDT
> To: Dave Farber <farber () gmail com>
> Cc: John Horgan <jhorgan () stevens edu>
> Subject: Nuclear expert Alex Wellerstein on North Korea and other threats
>
> Dave, I thought your list might find this Q&A with nuclear-weapons historian Alex Wellerstein interesting. He has 
> smart things to say about North Korea and Trump as well as nuclear terrorism, modernization, proliferation and civil 
> defense. Cheers, John Horgan
>
>  
>
> An excerpt from Wellerstein's remarks: "What I find most worrying about our present time is the apparent decrease in 
> the salience and power of the “nuclear taboo” in the United States. The American public seems more willing than it 
> ever has since the end of the Cold War to consider using nuclear weapons to achieve its policy aims; read Scott Sagan 
> and Benjamin Valentino’s recent paper on this point. The current US President seems to have no self-control, no sense 
> of personal (much less national) consequences, and no sense of the dangers of war or even nuclear war. It is easy to 
> imagine scenarios in which he might be convinced that a nuclear weapon might be a palatable option to use, and there 
> are essentially no legal checks (and very few possible practical checks) on his ability to order such an attack. It 
> is a bad thing to have to say, but I find him much more unpredictable and disturbing along these lines than, say, Kim 
> Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, or any of the others in the “rogue’s gallery” of people that get worried about with regards 
> to nuclear weapons."
>
>  
>
> For more see 
> https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/nuclear-expert-considers-risks-of-conflict-with-north-korea/​
>
> Archives  | Modify Your Subscription | Unsubscribe Now
>
>  



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20170811124924:05C1D7BC-7EB5-11E7-B91F-88FEA1B8E674
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com