Clinton and the dangers of Cold War Posturing

[illinoisprogressive]

What was previously a trifling dispute between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on foreign policy just got ugly -- and dangerous
In response to a question, Obama ruled out the first use of nuclear weapons against al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Clinton pounced, arguing that "presidents since the Cold War have used nuclear deterrents (sic) to keep the peace, and I don't believe any president should make blanket statements with the regard to use or nonuse."

Potential first use of nuclear weapons is apparently the doctrine of the Clinton campaign. This, as she said, is a hoary shibboleth of the Cold War. The U.S. reserved the right to use nuclear weapons first to keep the Soviets from invading Europe with their alleged conventional military advantage. In fact, the Russian advantage in conventional forces was probably mythic and they had no intention of invading in any case.

But even though the leaders of Hillary's foreign policy team were steeped in conventional Cold War doctrine, even they should object to sustaining a doctrine of first use.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-l-borosage/sen-clinton-and-the-dang_b_59071.html