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• Thursday, February 21, 2008 10:22 AM

  @Taliesan

  First, thanks for the (rightfully) limited acknowlegement.

  Second: While I'm sure you know as well as I that the acronym MAD has been played up because of its implications about anyone who participates in such a zero-sum game, it did serve a useful if painful purpose in our evolution. That's in the past for now. And of course you're right that it wouldn't work nearly as well, at least theoretically speaking, with religious fanatics, even though Osama Bin Laden himself has been quoted as saying it would be "inhuman" to target nuclear power plants (perhaps even the Old Cave Dweller understands that plutonium is not only forever but that it also doesn't always stay put). However, these fanatics are a long way from possessing or controlling the kind of Mutually Assured Destructive power owned by the US, Russia and its environs, and China. Maybe even India. They (religious fanatics, ie: Muslims out for trouble) are no less problematic (see reference to plutonium problem) but are definitely less of an international threat than those you mentioned at the end of your post to me.

  I also made reference to our homegrown religious fanatics, starting with our current fish head of state. We have a bigger problem than anyone seems to recognize, and we really need to address that one urgently, even as we keep a clear eye and firm grip on the development of lunatic fringe operations outside our borders. I'm all too familiar with the rapturist movement, our would-be immanentizers of the Christian eschaton, who would blow up the planet in a heartbeat, given the opportunity and maybe a proper sign. (if you can find it, there is a great movie on this topic, from the late 60s and curiously difficult to locate anywhere these days, called "The Billion Dollar Brain", which brought this issue to life for me back in the day; I have kept the crazies on monitor ever since).

  As usual, the late Walt Kelly, in the guise of his Pogo character, remains correct and current: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

  —AJCalhoun Read AJCalhoun's other letters
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