Since January 20, 2009 the United States has been signalling to all of the world as loudly as it can that the United States has no intention of defending itself or any country that believes that it is an ally of the United States.

If this launch does end up posing some sort of threat to Japan and/or South Korea; they and every country that has depended on us as a military ally will have to rethink their security situation. Japan is believed to be able to assemble a credible nuclear deterrent with a few turns of a wrench.

South Korea has long has the means to begin building its own nukes. In 1976 it cancelled its nuclear weapons program and signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty solely to preserve its defense relationship with the US. If that relationship no longer can be relied on, the only rational response is to restart the program.

Similarly, there have been recurrent rumors that Taiwan has the ability to produce [or has produced] nuclear weapons. Its program was officially shut down in 1993 at the demand of William Jefferson Clinton. Still, looking at the development of indigenous Taiwanese missiles; the CEP’s and ranges of several models make no sense with conventional warheads. However, for counter-value targeting with nuclear weapons they make perfect sense. It is noted that Taiwan was deeply involved in defense coordination and weapons production with both Israel and pre-Mandala South Africa. Both partners developed nuclear weapons [South Africa destroyed theirs] and Taiwanese physicists [who helped us develop weapons during the Cold War]were deeply involved.

If the US defense guarantee has no factual value, a sense of self-preservation means that smaller nations are going to either look for the modern equivalent of Sam Colt’s equalizer, or to make whatever accomodation they can with the United States’ enemies.

The world has become a far more dangerous place in the last 68 days. And it is only the beginning.

Nothing lasts forever but the Earth and Sky.

Subotai Bahadur