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MORE ON PROLIFERATION ROLLBACK. Via Brad Plumer, this discussion from Jeffrey Lewis elaborates on the point I made last week regarding the British nuclear program:
The debate over Trident is somewhat surreal because, frankly, the UK�s nuclear weapons are irrelevant: they don�t deter anyone, confer any status or, frankly, threaten anyone. They are not particularly good or bad.On a related subject, I failed to note at the time that North Korea represents another opportunity for rollback of nuclear proliferation. Although it�s unlikely that North Korea will ever willingly give up its nuclear program, a collapse of the regime would likely lead to reunification with South Korea. If that happens, and if Seoul manages to get control of the DPRK�s nuclear arsenal, it�s possible that the unified Korean state could be convinced to disassemble the weapons. It might be a tough sell, since even a unified Korean regime will be at a military disadvantage to all of its neighbors, and I suspect that the prestige value of nukes would weigh heavily. Still, economic crisis would accompany reunification, giving the U.S., Japan, and other interested parties levers with which to push Korea toward disarmament.
--Robert Farley
