What gives the USA special rights to carry nuclear weapons?

Nuclear weapons are a political tool. It’s the ability to threaten use of nukes, not so much the use itself. If two countries aren’t getting along and one of them has a nuclear arsenal, that country can always rely on the threat of using nukes, allowing it to be a little pushier and get what it wants at the bargaining table.

The concern is that if countries not friendly with the US have nuclear arsenals, there will be nothing stopping them from doing what they what, which is conflict with what we want. No one in the government seriously expects Iran to go nuts and starting firing nukes all over the place if they have them. What they fear is that Iran will not back down on things the US and its allies want them to back down on. Israel, for example, has an edge over its enemy Iran by having a nuclear arsenal. If Iran pisses Israel off, Israel can always say, “well we’ve got nukes, so you better watch it.” And Iran does have to watch it, to some extent. But if Iran has nukes, they can respond, “oh yeah? We’ve got more than you, so we’ll just go ahead and keeping arming the Palestinians” or whatever the issue in dispute is.

There is no “right” to have nuclear weapons. It’s a matter of which countries want to keep which other countries from having them for political purposes.

Sigh…

religionisgood - I get why the government wants to keep other governments from getting nuclear weapons, my question is how do they justify their right to have the weapons? And for that matter I’m not picking on the US, what gives Russia, Israel, or India those rights but not Iran? Because Iran disagrees with the US? Again I ask who made the US the world authority?

“but you are from Florida! Not really much to say, I was just surprised.”

Yeah, me too. It surprises me that any true American would ever question the decisions and policies of the government…that’s a very un-American thing to do.

“I think we can trust George W won’t push the button”, uhm so what? So you trust him not to do anything, why should that mean the rest of the world should trust him?

They talk as if there is a moral code, as if Iran is violating some sacred code which only allows certain countries the right to defend themselves… It isnt me that’s talking, it is the politicians and I want to know why they think they have a God given right to arms that other people dont have… Obama is no different, and I guess I wonder where these people get the right to believe they are justified…

well if a nuc war starts we all die everyone on the planet cause it will also block out the sun and start a ice age there should be a world wide agreement to fight only with normal wepons and disasimble all nucs cause nucs do way to much to the earth let alone the people why can their be a agreement for every contry to disasimble their nucs at the same time or at least just you keep 1 or 2 small nucs cause the world has way to much of them if every nuc on the planet went all their would be no earth

Ty, after reading your question I fully expected to see that you were from a different country than the USA, but you are from Florida! Not really much to say, I was just surprised. And yes, I think we can trust that George W won’t push the button. I think it’s like one of those situations like when we are driving. We know what WE are going to do, but we don’t know what everyone else is going to do. Not saying it’s right, just saying thats what the train of thought may be.

Some folks can’t be trusted to not push the button…Religious fanatics for instance.

cla-clack!

…cuzz we invented ‘em. We got dibs.

and this would make Bush different how?

Because the USA along with France,Russia,China and Great Britain is one of the most powerful countries that saved the world from the narzis.