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rfmcdonaldBack in February 2006, I noted the large number of 1980s pop songs dealing with nuclear war, the sort of all-out exchange of tens of thousands of bombs that seemed inescapable. If not for the revolutionary changes at the end of the 1980s, maybe it actually would have been. The huge cuts in the number of nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War, alongside the decisions of countries like Ukraine and South Africa to abandon their weapons and of others like Argentina and Brazil to cancel their programs, is very good news. Even though India and Pakistan publicly and Israel quietly are nuclear powers in addition to the permanent members of the Security Council, the spread of weapons and the number of weapons has been sharply limited. Now, things have progressed to the point where US President Barack Obama calls for an abolition of nuclear weapons.
What do you think of this goal? Is it an unalloyed good? Could people who are critical of the idea be right when they argue that the disappearance of nuclear weapons is not only impractical but could encourage international conflict? Do you feel safer now, how much safer? Does the idea of nuclear terrorism concern you?
What do you think of this goal? Is it an unalloyed good? Could people who are critical of the idea be right when they argue that the disappearance of nuclear weapons is not only impractical but could encourage international conflict? Do you feel safer now, how much safer? Does the idea of nuclear terrorism concern you?
