Bases surrounding a rival power provoke dangerous escalation

Evidence

On a beach, if two midsized crabs launch into full battle it’s not likely to matter much for everybody else. But we’re not on that beach. Weapons of mass destruction are cheap enough now that most midsized states have them, or if they don’t yet, they soon will, and the destructive power of these weapons is so great that their use anywhere, even once, has the potential to unravel civilization on a global scale. If weapons of mass destruction are part of the equation, then we can’t let any confrontation escalate. Ever. But stopping them all is a tall order. A mere glance at our present political map shows hot spots with deadly potential—rivalries poised and ready to flare into full war. North Korea versus South Korea; India versus Pakistan; Israel versus Iran—all of these nations stand toe-to-toe with equally matched rivals, and all either already have or will soon have weapons of mass destruction. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 608 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Scattered small bases force collaboration with despotic regimes and enable coups.; New bases near China and Russia may create the threats they guard against; Evenly matched rival states with WMDs pose civilization-scale escalation risk — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 608 (+6 more)

Related

• Evenly matched rival states with WMDs pose civilization-scale escalation risk (similarity 0.86)
• Bases near rival borders provoke arms races and discourage diplomacy (similarity 0.83)
• New U.S. bases near rivals may create the very threats they aim to counter. (similarity 0.82)
• New bases near China and Russia may create the threats they guard against (similarity 0.81)
• Hosting US bases makes host countries targets for attack (similarity 0.80)
• US bases near China and Russia borders raise confrontation risk (similarity 0.80)
• Interstate war escalates like a contest between rival crabs (similarity 0.79)
• Defensive bases can appear threatening to the nations they encircle (similarity 0.79)
• Proliferating nuclear weapons increase the risk of accidental world-ending war (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• New bases near China and Russia may create the threats they guard against #corroborates (0.85)
• Overseas bases can increase global danger rather than security #corroborates (0.80)
• Evenly matched rival states with WMDs pose civilization-scale escalation risk #expands (0.50) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 608
• Hosting US bases makes host countries targets for attack #complicates (0.40) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 36