Not so unthinkable
The list of targets is fairly spurious, but China and North Korea are real possible targets.
More importantly, they are targets that will be deterred by the threat of nuclear weapons. The leaders of both countries have strong survival instincts. Nuclear threats are of no use against terrorists, terrorists are liable to welcome the attack as proof of American evil.
Russia isn't a viable target unless the government collapses, and there is no telling what would happen after that. So as long as they have a large nuclear arsenal we have to consider what to do, even if we know there is significant chance of having to do it.
Iraq, Iran, Lybia and Syria are not crediable targets though. Iraq deserves a place on the list just remind them that they are an A-1 target, but I can't imagine any real military reason to use one there. The threat of using one in response of a BNC attack by them is probably usefull though. Lybia and Syria are less of a threat then Iraq.
Iran is an interesting target though. The Bush administration seems bent on keeping Iran in the major enemy list, despite the fact that it is slowly moving towards real democracy and freedom.
With the exception of Isreal, Iran is probably the most democractic country in the middle east. And the citizens are more free then many in the region, including our 'ally' Saudi Arabia.
Actually, the only thing that worries me here is the talk of using nukes as tunnel busters. Think the people in the middle east hate us now, just wait till we start perminantly contaminating large tracts of land.
Jay
