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Witch Hunters Must Hunt Witches
Sep. 10th, 2015 11:22 amYears ago, I read a nuclear-war novel about the last ship after the war (not, I think the novel The Last Ship) in which the following was said by a character. "Witch hunters must hunt witches. When they run out of witches, they start hunting people who were merely around witches."
Here's a corollary: "Cold Warriors must keep fighting the Cold War. When they run out of Soviets, they start hunting countries that kinda-sorta look like the Soviet Union."
Specifically, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Cold Warriors started attacking Iraq and North Korea - authoritarian regimes that had some WMDs (at one time) and some willingness to use same. Now, they've moved onto Iran - a country that may develop nuclear weapons someday. The Cold Warriors have gone from existential threat to major pain-in-the-ass to potential pain-in-the-ass.
Here's a corollary: "Cold Warriors must keep fighting the Cold War. When they run out of Soviets, they start hunting countries that kinda-sorta look like the Soviet Union."
Specifically, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Cold Warriors started attacking Iraq and North Korea - authoritarian regimes that had some WMDs (at one time) and some willingness to use same. Now, they've moved onto Iran - a country that may develop nuclear weapons someday. The Cold Warriors have gone from existential threat to major pain-in-the-ass to potential pain-in-the-ass.
