they would not have shipped out out under contemporary circumstances. 1/

i don't doubt that countries facing an immediate threat from a nuclear or far superior military power may find it impractical to proliferate, under that degree of threat and surveillance. 2/

but the debate over "whether we would if we could" is over. of course they would if they could, to a level that would establish "assured deterrence". 3/

states facing less immediate threats and less intense surveillance, still enjoying some degree of protection from friendly states or alliances whose permanence and reliability have been revised downward, will. /fin