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The Nuclear Age is over. When the major powers have strong trade and business agreements, leverage is applied incrementally rather than explosively. That said

The Nuclear Age is over. When the major powers have strong trade and business agreements, leverage is applied incrementally rather than explosively. That said, welcome to the Software Wars era. When country A can receive significant financial leverage with a small hack of country B's market, they will. The US needs a world class software defense 'army'. However, you don't point that gun at your own people. Neither should spying be done on allies if it threatens existing partnerships. The hacking 'arms race' is just getting started.

ChuckMcM 11y ago
I think it would be great if the threat of nuclear exchanges was gone, however I don't know that I believe that.
sliverstorm 11y ago
When the major powers have strong trade and business agreements, leverage is applied incrementally rather than explosively. You do realize Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because we were waging economic war ("leverage") on them? Such as the oil embargo?
Intermernet 11y ago
The Nuclear Age is far from over. If anything, we've just gone from the "only big players can afford them" to the "we don't really know who has them" stage. There were reports of the Russian Mafia having control over nuclear material. [1] The collapse of the iron curtain caused a wonderful climate for well funded criminal elements to get their hands on all sorts of nasty stuff. This is documented, but not really discussed that much. I've read that many governments are actually a lot less worried about the Russian mafia having this material than they are about North Korea having these weapons, as organised crime doesn't really stand to profit very much from a nuclear stand-off. Apparently Mossad even purchased some of it to "stop it falling into the hands of Islamic and other terror groups" [2] You can't put that genie back in it's bottle. The Nuclear Age won't be over for a while yet, it's just in a quiet phase. [1]: https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume16/issue4/Mirsky16U.Pa.J.Int%27lBus.L.749%281995%29.pdf https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume16/iss... [2]: http://www.rense.com/general44/maf.htm http://www.rense.com/general44/maf.htm
Zigurd 11y ago
Indeed the whole culture of intentional weaknesses in security is something we will pay for in losses in the kind of war you describe. Security or surveillance. Pick one.

ChuckMcM 11y ago

I think it would be great if the threat of nuclear exchanges was gone, however I don't know that I believe that.

sliverstorm 11y ago

When the major powers have strong trade and business agreements, leverage is applied incrementally rather than explosively. You do realize Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because we were waging economic war ("leverage") on them? Such as the oil embargo?

Intermernet 11y ago

The Nuclear Age is far from over. If anything, we've just gone from the "only big players can afford them" to the "we don't really know who has them" stage. There were reports of the Russian Mafia having control over nuclear material. [1] The collapse of the iron curtain caused a wonderful climate for well funded criminal elements to get their hands on all sorts of nasty stuff. This is documented, but not really discussed that much. I've read that many governments are actually a lot less worried about the Russian mafia having this material than they are about North Korea having these weapons, as organised crime doesn't really stand to profit very much from a nuclear stand-off. Apparently Mossad even purchased some of it to "stop it falling into the hands of Islamic and other terror groups" [2] You can't put that genie back in it's bottle. The Nuclear Age won't be over for a while yet, it's just in a quiet phase. [1]: https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume16/issue4/Mirsky16U.Pa.J.Int%27lBus.L.749%281995%29.pdf https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jil/articles/volume16/iss... [2]: http://www.rense.com/general44/maf.htm http://www.rense.com/general44/maf.htm

Zigurd 11y ago

Indeed the whole culture of intentional weaknesses in security is something we will pay for in losses in the kind of war you describe. Security or surveillance. Pick one.