A friend asked, in regard to an earlier blog about removing Iranian nuclear weapons, whether the U.S. would use nuclear weapons against Iran. There is a technical and a moral answer.
Technically I have no idea whether
nuclear weapons are needed for bombing Iranian nuclear weapons sites.
Morally, my answer is yes. I consider it a moral equivalency when a nuclear nation uses nuclear weapons to keep a rogue nation from creating a functional nuclear arsenal.
It should always be easy for a rogue nation to avoid having a nuclear weapon used against it. Agree to international inspection. That forestalls attack.
This moral equivalency doctrine has not been announced nor accepted internationally but it should be. Into the foreseeable future we should make it clear that a rogue nation that tries to build a nuclear weapon but is not technically able to defend itself against a nuclear attack has crossed a dangerous and unforgiving threshold.
Every effort and threat must be used to keep rogue nations from becoming nuclear.
Rogue nation is easy to define: it is any nation that violates the millenia old rules of international order. Iran seized American embassy personnel and has never apologized nor made amends. Iran is an international outlaw --- a rogue state.