I had to laugh at Andrew Card’s preposterous reaction to the news that North Korea has test-fired a missile which may or may not one day be armed with some sort of nuclear warhead. Card was actually heard to say “I think they’re looking to kind of be bullies in the world. And they’re causing others to stand up and take notice.”
Wait. Was Andy talking about Pyongyang or Washington D.C.? What do you call it when the bullies accuse the bullies?
To put this in perspective, the United States government, of which Card is a high ranking official (White House Chief of Staff), has a rather more impressive nuclear arsenal. According to a story in Newsweek on June 25, 2001:
The U.S. nuclear arsenal today includes 5,400 warheads loaded on intercontinental ballistic missiles at land and sea; an additional 1,750 nuclear bombs and cruise missiles ready to be launched from B-2 and B-52 bombers; a further 1,670 nuclear weapons classified as “tactical.” And just in case, an additional 10,000 or so nuclear warheads held in bunkers around the United States as a “hedge” against future surprises.
In case you were wondering, the total of those figures is 18820. The same Newsweek story quotes George W. Bush, newly elected president at the time, as saying “I had no idea we had so many weapons.” If Mr. Card, who may or may not know how many weapons there are, but certainly doesn’t seem to care, is curious about why Pyongyang might (or might not) be developing nukes of its own, I have just provided 18,000 of them.