# Myanmar/Burma. Nuclear Weapons. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 4, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356 "2009-08-04T23:06:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/1 "2009-08-04T23:06:26Z")
Myanmar. Atomic weapons. Why? The US? China? India/Pakistan? Other? What makes them feel this threatened? They wouldn’t even let aid workers in, after the big hurricane. Why are they so paranoid? Background info appreciated. Mods–anything involving nukes in likely major enough for GD. If not, I’m sorry for choosing the wrong Forum. ---
**Author:** ![bri1600bv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@bri1600bv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bri1600bv)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/2 "2009-08-04T23:13:24Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Myanmar. Atomic weapons. Why? > The US? China? India/Pakistan? Other? > > What makes them feel this threatened? > > They wouldn’t even let aid workers in, after the big hurricane. > > Why are they so paranoid? > Background info appreciated. > > Mods–anything involving nukes in likely major enough for GD. If not, I’m sorry for choosing the wrong Forum. Who says they feel threatened, maybe they want to be a threat to someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/3 "2009-08-05T00:48:29Z")
I’m reminded of the Apartheid-era South Africa nuclear program. Who were they going to use nukes against- Marxist guerrillas? Perhaps it’s something pariah states are drawn to, the idea of developing nukes so that they can say “F\*\*\*-Off” to threats of intervention. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/4 "2009-08-05T00:49:59Z")
Link O’ Rama? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/5 "2009-08-05T00:55:27Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Link O’ Rama? [Here’s](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090721/ap_on_re_as/as_myanmar_nuclear_ambitions) a story talking about Myanmar’s alleged desire for a nuclear weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/6 "2009-08-05T00:56:11Z")
[A story about this subject from Voice of America.](http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-03-voa16.cfm) (I’m not vouching for its accuracy since I hadn’t heard about this before.) Why Burma? Because the country is a little like North Korea Jr. It’s ruled by force by a small group of complete lunatics who do absolutely nothing good for anyone else, and they will do anything they can to told on to power. If it’s true, that would be the answer more or less. After that terrible flood last year, they dawdled on letting aid workers into the country because they feared an invasion. They’re paranoid and crazy, and greedy and useless. That said, the story is apparently based on reports by defectors, and it has to be noted that stories about Iraq’s nonexistent nuclear and WMD programs had the same source. ---
**Author:** ![Jerseyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Jerseyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerseyman)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/7 "2009-08-05T00:56:23Z")
> [@bri1600bv](#): > > Who says they feel threatened, maybe they want to be a threat to someone else. They damn well should feel threatened. But they are not the tag-end of Communism, they are not Muslim, they are just plain scumbag _nasty dictators_ of no particular affiliation or international use. So nobody cares. ---
**Author:** ![AdmiralCrunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@AdmiralCrunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AdmiralCrunch)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/8 "2009-08-05T03:38:14Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That said, the story is apparently based on reports by defectors, and it has to be noted that stories about Iraq’s nonexistent nuclear and WMD programs had the same source. And [this.](http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/08/04/whats_burma_building_in_there) Burma has the same motivation as NK. Mismanaged shithole trades threats for food and supplies, and comes out looking validated and successful to its people. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myanmar-burma-nuclear-weapons-why/505356/9 "2009-08-05T05:38:09Z")
Eh, it sort of makes sense. If your the despot of some poor, famine stricken hell-hole, you can pour your defense budget into a fifth rate military armed with the cast-offs of the USSR which will last all of fifteen minutes against basically any enemy that isn’t also a similarly armed impoverished hell-hole, or you can try and build up a nuclear program that will, at the least, suggest the possibility that you might be able to launch a nuclear retaliation if someone starts invading. And that deterant is about as effective against superpowers like China and the US as it is against smaller countries, no one can really afford the risk of having a city nuked. If you can get away with it, and get someone like N. Korea to sell you a delivery system, it’s probably the best use of your defense buck.