Dr. Strangelove and friends

My apologies for the cliched image, but has anyone been watchin the U.S. presidential nominations lately?

Anyone getting very worried about the 'I'm so much tougher than you are' rhetoric coming forth from some of these wannabes?

In the last two weeks, we've had some sort of highly dangerous bidding contest where each nominee is trying to outdo each other on national security to appear tough.

'I'm prepared to invade Pakistan'. Errmmm. Aren't they an ally?' And 'How would you feel if Russia invaded and bombed New Jersey because there was a Chechen terrorist cell there?' What's good for the goose is good for the gander after all.

What got me was the automatic assumption Obama had that he felt he could just invade/bomb any country whenever he felt like as if it was no big deal.

Another candidate says 'I'm prepared to drop nuclear bombs on Mecca'. Ermmm, wont' that completely p**s off the other one billion Muslims worldwide and start WWIII?

One nominee said 'I'm prepared (and will discard the unwritten 'no first use' rule that's stood for the last 50 years) to use tactical nukes in the battlefield'. Just like they are normal munitions! The world is trying to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to prevent some countries using them as they 'could be potential threats', but yet these candidates are suggesting tossing atomic bombs around as casually as hand-grenades. Bit of a double standard wouldn'tcha think?

Pakistan has already protested saying that nominees should not use their nation to indulge in political chest beating.

Being 'strong' on national security has turned into a one-way ratchet where potential Presidents keep dialling up the rhetoric, are never allowed to talk to enemies, must act with extreme aggression to all and any threats, are prepared to authorise more invasions of privacy, more wiretappping, more state powers, more weapons, more spy satellites , more, more, more. Both parties are at it too.

If I were an American I would vote 'none of the above'.

At least Kennedy et al, despite all the public bravado over the Cuba crisis, had the good sense to go round and knock on the back door of the Soviet embassy and say 'Hey fella's, what say we work something out here before this thing gets outta control'.