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Once the nuke was invented there was no way to stop proliferation.

Umm, not quite - at least, there is a way to prevent the sort of ever-growing proliferation that this article talks about. We know it works, because for 40 years it did work.

That is through heavy-handed leverage in client states that are so dependent on the competing super-powers - and so well supported - that they don't need nuclear weapons. If Korea (more Stalinist than Maoist) had tried to develop nuclear weapons while they were dependent on the USSR, they would have put Moscow at risk (since a nuclear weapon going off on American soil would have been blamed on the other superpower and their clients), and so the Soviets would stop it.

Our 'problem' - and despite the problems I wouldn't have it any other way - is that we're too nice as a nation. Up until recently, no one feared us, not really, and other nations realize they'd need to be almost cartoonishly 'evil' to arouse us even now. The Bush Doctrine changes are not enough to overcome counter examples like Carter/Clinton, and in fact all the current Democrat candidates. The restraint on Korea was never fear of a regime-ending attack from us (and certainly never any sense of morality or 'need') but only the Soviet Union.

Does that mean I want the old 'evil empire' back? Of course not. But it did work to impede nuclear proliferation.

So what do we do? The first thing is to realize that nuclear weapons are not the only Weapons of Mass Destruction. There are other weapons bad enough that we just can't let them proliferate. And we must defend against them and their delivery systems. Actively and - if need be - aggressively. I don't care if the container that is smuggled into the country has a nuke or a ton of VX or smallpox. We need to recognize all are threats and not get so focused on one particular variety of WMD that we leave ourselves open to others.

Welcome to the New World.

But all it could do was slow it down, and even then only satelite states were effected, anybody managing to run independent (like China) still gets to make 'em. Then you get some new leader in charge of one of the super powers and he decides he digs proliferation and so it goes. Like I said it can't be stopped, it can only be slowed.

I think what we do is realize that all our thoughts on preventing proliferation were silly, wake up and smell the freaking coffee. You can't put the genie back in the bottle. Proliferation was inevitable and our counting on a few meaningless treaties to prevent it was short sighted and left us ill prepared for the world that was destined to come.