Burmese Nukes: Buried Story of the Week
I've asked before which emerging stories of considerable significance we might be overlooking in our focus on what appear to be more pressing matters. This one seems a good candidate to me:
Myanmar's silence on reports it has nuclear ambitions along with its denials of violating its commitment to the NPT, "is very strange; it is very suspicious," said Kelly, a nuclear engineer, during a telephone interview from Vienna. "They are exploiting a loophole in the Small Quantities Protocol and getting away [with it]."
I noticed it while scrolling through the website of my journalistic alma mater, Asia Times. I do that every now and again for old time's sake--it was the first newspaper I ever worked for, in Bangkok, back in about 1995. I think everyone I knew there has since been lynched in a coup, found dead in a gutter, or taken vows of celibacy and silence at a Buddhist monastery. But every so often they still publish something interesting.
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Jun '10
Re: Burmese Nukes: Buried Story of the Week
Mutually Assured Destruction went out of fashion, but never left the military toolbox. Especially for nations whose leaders have an exaggerated fear of losing face. It's the suicide vest that covers a whole country.
May '10
Re: Burmese Nukes: Buried Story of the Week
Yeah, the SLORC goons have been doing this for a while. The Czar of Muscovy and yours truly brought this up about a year ago. A couple years back I blathered about trying to work with our allies in the region on destabilizing the SLORC state…which is something that I find curious to this day. You’d think that a nuclear Burma would alarm, at the least, to Thailand and India, against both of whom the Burmese have some (relatively small) territorial claims. And you'd think the Thais and Indians would presumably raise that issue with us. But I've never heard word of that kind of bi- or multi-lateral concern. Hmm. (This probably has as much to do with my sources as anything else.)
Interestingly, last fall the often estimable Jim Webb was reported to be kowtowing to SLORC and found a defender at Georgetown. Indeed, last fall there was a bit of an Administration diplomatic offensive—presumably of the open-hand-not-closed-fist variety—which seems to have exactly zero positive results from our side. I guess we forgot to bring an Overload Button®. to Naypyidaw…