DBWI: Brazil has just joined the nuclear club

Blame Marcos: he had two decades to fix poverty, but decided to loot the country and kill his opponents instead. If he'd focused on it, he'd be remembered like Lee (the model authoritarian IMO) rather than yet another tinpot. He's like Indira Gandhi, another pol who was worshipped by the poor: doing things that actually hurt them in the long run while still getting their votes. On GMA: she's done a good job on the economy at least, even if she had her "Katrina" recently.

Well, Indira at least tried to get votes somewhat honestly; what Marcos did was simply station bought-and-paid-for Constabulary at every polling place to intimidate the voters, and when that didn't work, his cronies simply made up the numbers.

Seriously, though, even with the crapsack economy in the PI, if all the money going to the nuclear program actually went to, say, education, we'd be up there with South Korea. But you know our people - always compensating for something...
 
There are presently 13 nuclear powers. These are the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, the Republic of China*, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, Israel, Chile, Argentina, Brazil. Is that too many?

Persia (only Soviets and their fellow travellers call it "Iran" after Khomeini led the revolution that overthrew the communist regime and restored the Shah) is one nation that could soon have the bomb. Iraq, Syria, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, West Pakistan**, Indonesia, New Zealand, Colombia, Mexico, and Libya all seem to be in the hunt for the bomb too.

Well there may be only 13 declared nuclear weapon states, and a bunch of others who *might* acquire nuclear weapons in future.... but what about those other states that clandestine nuclear programs, and may already have undeclared nuclear weapons? I know some people worry about Jamaica or Nigeria, but the one that concerns me most is Sweden. Their government is unpredictable, what with their crazy Eugenic-Socialist ideology, and unlike most people, I don't think it's all just hot-air when they talk about reversing the tragedy of 1905*, or liberating the Alands**

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* OOC: The independence of Norway from Sweden

** OOC: The Swedish speaking minority areas of Finland.
 
Swedish pacifism...

I agree that the Swedes are a surprise, but they are good engineers and between NATO and the former Soviet Union. Their current policy of high-quality Civil Defence and an affordable reserve-based Armed Service is sensible. In their shoes, I would prefer to develop accurate cruise missiles with fuel-air-explosive warheads and maybe explosion 'pinch' type electro-magnetic pulse generators. The FAE and cluster warheads would halt possible airborne or naval invaders, whilst EMP would destroy enemy communications, radar nets and power supplies. Modern warfare calls for precise targetting and C3I paralysis. Armed neutrality serves the Swedes well - nuclear options make them too prominent a threat.
 
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