"Abroad, the threats were to be "international terrorism," "Hispanic narcotraffickers," and most serious of all, "rogue states." A secret 1995 study of the Strategic Command, which is responsible for the strategic nuclear arsenal, outlines the basic thinking. Released through the Freedom of Information act, the study, *Essentials of Post-Cold War Deterrence*, "shows how the United States shifted its deterrent strategy from the defunct Soviet Union to so-called rogue states such as Iraq, Libya, Cuba and North Korea," AP reports. The study advocates that the U.S. exploit its nuclear arsenal to portray itself as "irrational and vindictive if its vital interests are attacked." That "should be a part of the national persona we project to all adversaries," particularly the "rogue states." "It hurts to portray ourselves as too fully rational and cool-headed," let alone committed to such silliness as international law and treaty obligations. "The fact that some elements" of the U.S. government "may appear to be potentially ‘out of control’ can be beneficial to creating and reinforcing fears and doubts within the minds of an adversary’s decision makers." The report resurrects Nixon’s "madman theory": our enemies should recognize that we are crazed and unpredictable, with extraordinary destructive force at our command, so they will bend to our will in fear. The concept was apparently devised in Israel in the 1950s by the governing Labor Party, whose leaders "preached in favor of acts of madness," Prime Minister Moshe Sharett records in his diary, warning that "we will go crazy" ("nishtagea") if crossed, a "secret weapon" aimed in part against the U.S., not considered sufficiently reliable at the time. In the hands of the world’s sole superpower, which regards itself as an outlaw state and is subject to few constraints from elites within, that stance poses no small problem for the world."
On Mon, Jun 7, 2010 at 6:27 PM, Dennis Claxton <ddclaxton at earthlink.net>wrote:
> I just watched the Finkelstein RT interview and don't know if this has come
> up here but he appears to be taking the term "lunatic state" from Israeli
> policymakers themselves. Does anyone know where he got this?
>
> http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=128748§ionid=3510302
>
> [...]
>
> Of course, Israel in part wants to convey the fact that it is out of
> control. For example after the Gaza massacre, several Israeli officials said
> that the reason they carried on the way they did in Gaza was because they
> wanted to show that they are capable of acting like a mad dog and capable of
> acting like a lunatic state. But the question now is... are they only
> "acting" like a mad dog and a lunatic or have they really "become" a
> lunatic?
>
> [...]
>
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>