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[Frumple]

Probably about the same place any of the breakout (nominal, e.g. israel, or otherwise, e.g. probably iran) nations do? Whatever that place is, heh.

Maybe made a bit sketchier by how US actions in the last decade or so have put them in a pretty shitty situation, even just by what we've been doing on the other sides of their borders.

[smjjames]

Interestingly, Iran did sign that UN thingy wanting to ban nuclear weapons, though that's probably a choice loaded with politics (as it'd be a dig at the US) than actual policy. So, hard to tell if they're actually sincere in not really wanting to build nukes.

[redwallzyl]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/06/541876743/explosive-targets-minnesota-mosque

Incert witty sarcastic comment mocking lslamaphobes using their own memes.

[Criptfeind]

I live really near there, was pretty shocked to hear about it. I went out to see it myself. The damage didn't look too bad to me at first, but then I realized that I was at the sikh center instead.

More seriously, it's a shame. Feels bad when people blow up part of the community you live in. I hope they catch who ever did it. 

[Frumple]

It really kinda' does. Haven't had (m)any bombings I can recall near-ish to me, but arson (generally targeting black churches, historically, though I guess they'll get around to leaning more towards mosques, sooner or later) isn't exactly unknown.

Interestingly, Iran did sign that UN thingy wanting to ban nuclear weapons, though that's probably a choice loaded with politics (as it'd be a dig at the US) than actual policy. So, hard to tell if they're actually sincere in not really wanting to build nukes.

Eh... they probably are, but only insofar as they can maintain the possibility of breakthrough. It's kinda' the best of both worlds; the deterrent given by the possibility of nuclear retaliation if someone decides to go existential threat on 'em and the room to leverage not actually going through with getting the capability in negotiation.

It'd possibly be different if nuclear powers weren't habitually taking massive dumps all over their back yards, though. Most even remotely relatively sane powers these days (and, by and large, iran counts as that well enough) don't really want to have to deal with having the atomic hot potato sitting in their back pocket -- they'd much rather have the civil power generation and whatnot and call it a day, because gods know that's better for the budget in almost every situation they're going to actually encounter -- but when you have other nations that both have it and are causing messes around you/the world, it gets real beneficial to have it.

Or in other words, when you look around and see pretty clearly that the only folks that get much respect when it comes to MAD (i.e. avoidance of things like land invasions, overt domestic sabotage, etc.) are the ones that can join in, well... it starts looking like the only way certain other groups (*coughUSRussiaEUChinaetccough*) are going to stop being quite so casually willing to shit on you and everything around you is if you got the bomb. So you want the bomb, or at least the threat of having it, to keep other actors from going quite so far as they'd be otherwise willing to.

[Antioch]

Interestingly, Iran did sign that UN thingy wanting to ban nuclear weapons, though that's probably a choice loaded with politics (as it'd be a dig at the US) than actual policy. So, hard to tell if they're actually sincere in not really wanting to build nukes.

I have always thought that Iran wanted to join the club of nations that has the industrial capacity and technology to make nukes but not actually have them.

Japan for example has enough plutonium for thousands of warheads.

[EnigmaticHat]

Interestingly, Iran did sign that UN thingy wanting to ban nuclear weapons, though that's probably a choice loaded with politics (as it'd be a dig at the US) than actual policy. So, hard to tell if they're actually sincere in not really wanting to build nukes.

The situation has changed, now Israel has nukes.

[Il Palazzo]

Interestingly, Iran did sign that UN thingy wanting to ban nuclear weapons, though that's probably a choice loaded with politics (as it'd be a dig at the US) than actual policy. So, hard to tell if they're actually sincere in not really wanting to build nukes.

The situation has changed, now Israel has nukes.

What, Israel didn't have nukes until last month, and now they've just acquired them?

[EnigmaticHat]

Since Iran signed the treaty.

[Descan]

?

Israel is widely believed to have nukes, and to have had them for decades, but they've never officially said so. They've at most, teased about them.

[EnigmaticHat]

...yeah no my timeline was a little messed up there.  I looked it up, Israel was rumored to have nukes around 1966, the treaty was signed 1968.  I thought Israel's nukes were a lot later and the treaty a lot earlier.

Edit: Although, the current government is a different one than the one that signed the treaty, that might explain it.

[Il Palazzo]

the treaty was signed 1968. 

This treaty:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Prohibition_of_Nuclear_Weapons
Like I said, last month.

[smjjames]

the treaty was signed 1968. 

This treaty:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Prohibition_of_Nuclear_Weapons
Like I said, last month.

Yeah, I meant that one, not the one back in 1968.

[origamiscienceguy]

Israel would be crazy not to have nukes.

[Frumple]

Eh... bout as likely not, really. You don't necessarily need nukes yourself if you have someone willing to do the nuking for you. Gods know the eschatological nutjobs infesting our upper echelons would be happy to make sure we'd lend a hand if it came to that.