Who is the next member of the atomic club?

I would like your opinions on who is the next country that will develop "the bomb." According to news, talks, and gossip it seems inevitable that this club is going to gain a new member in a number of years. That fact in itself is scary.

I leave your worries, and your good opions to be shared with everyone right here@!

It is widely assumed with some validity that South Africa dismantled its nuclear inventory.  That said, just about any power that wants to spend the money can have nukes, if others let them.

That all depends, as usual, on those others' collective interests.

Still, I doubt it can be stopped permanently.  My guess, in view of current trends and rhetoric in east Asia, is that the next member of the "club" will be Japan.

Egypt

North Korea and Israel are in, and so are India and Pakistan. The next one will surely be Iran bt I guess that sooner than later evry middle sized state will have a sizeable arsenal with long range.

I think that the following will eventually become members almost compulsively:

• Brazil
• Mexico
• Venezuela
• South Africa
• Nigeria (if they stay united)
  
• Egypt
• Turkey
• Saudi Arabia
• Iraq
• Morocco
• Algeria
  
• Germany
• Italy
• Spain
• Poland
• Sweden
• Ukraine
  
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• South Korea
• Vietnam
• Burma

It's just the toy that "everybody must have"

Originally posted by Maju It's just the toy that "everybody must have"

why is that you think?

 

Burma has almost 60 million people, they are 23rd in the world. If North Korea has, why not Burma?

But I agree that following this reason I could have included Bangla Desh, Argentina or others...

It's just speculative.

Originally posted by Maju Burma has almost 60 million people, they are 23rd in the world. If North Korea has, why not Burma? But I agree that following this reason I could have included Bangla Desh, Argentina or others... It's just speculative.

having a large population doesn't necessarily mean it is capable enough of developing nuclear warheads. burma and bangladesh do not have the economic and technical resources to support such a development. north korea, on the other hand, allocates such a huge portion of its gdp to support the project.

Rumours have it that the saudi's are able to acquire the technology/bomb via Pakistan becase they helped bankrole pakistans project in the first place. Infact im pretty worried that they seem to fall under the radar

Egypt is interested in nuke technology but not weapons for now while algeria is another long term suspect. Apperantly libya was more advance in its pursuit of nukes than what the US thought, but was stopped in its tracks when the pakistan nuke network got rolled up.

Turkey wont have much choice if the iranians and arabs get theirs.

Morroco
Burma
Indonesia
Nigeria
Iraq
should be taken of that list. they simply dont have the ability or needs

you'd be already stretching it with
thailand
poland
Venezuela



Edited by Leonidas

Originally posted by Mixcoatl Originally posted by Maju But I agree that following this reason I could have included Bangla Desh, Argentina or others... Argentina had a nuclear program running during the military dictatorship, but it was abandoned in the late 1980's. And because Argentina wanted a nuke, Brazil wanted to have one too. The Brazilean nuclear program was cancelled as well.

It was the cost.  Latin America in general was ready to implode financially in the 1980s.  Anyway, those countries are much better off using resources for other things.  Neither of them is strategically threatened by the other (and no they are not threatened by gringos either).  

 

Originally posted by flyingzone Some suspect that Taiwan also has it. But such claim is unsubstantiated.

Regardless, I wouldn't be surprised if they have had such a program.  They might even start one up fairly soon as China's conventional military might increases.  It probably wouldn't be ICBM's, but IRBM's and cruise missiles and aircraft bombs.