The Obama administration has made it clear that they wish to achieve a world completely devoid of nuclear weapons. Now, this may seem like a great idea at first; no nuclear weapons, no chance of a nuclear holocaust. Unfortunately, reality beats great ideas every time.
First off, there will never be any way to be absolutely certain that there are zero nuclear weapons in the world. This means, you guessed it, we would be removing our best defense to a nuclear attack (mutual assured destruction) when we couldn't really be certain we would not be attacked.
Second, have any of these anti-nuclear crusaders studied world history? The world fought two immensely bloody conflicts in which millions of people died in the four decades before the first atom bomb. In all likelihood, the West would have waged an even bloodier World War III with the Communist East had nuclear weapons not intervened (in the form of the Cold War).
Nuclear weapons have actually saved countless lives. If we attempt to return to a pre-nuclear Earth, we risk immense bloodshed and the possibility of a rogue state attaining incredible power.
The best way to prepare for peace is to actually prepare for war. Our enemies always knew that in the event they were ever insane enough to attack us that our response would be greater than what they ever could throw at the United States. Hence, no one dared to use these weapons because THEY knew the consequences. Deterrence because of our strength WORKED. Now Obama wants to cut our nuclear warheads by 80%! 80%!
ReplyDeleteThis man’s idea to cut our nuclear weapons to levels not seen since we started actually stock piling these weapons in the early 1950's goes against our country’s Constitutional mandate to "protect and defend the United States"…you know, that is what this guy raised his hand to do when he was sworn into office! Does he NOT remember the oath of his office?
Where Obama gets it wrong is in his belief that if we reduce or eliminate our nuclear holdings — unilaterally, bilaterally or whatever through a treaty — others would, too. How naïve is Obama? His idea would work if all nations held hands around the campfire and sang songs, but there’s no evidence that it would work. History is pretty clear on this. After all, Obama is still naïve enough to believe that the “Arab Spring” will bring democracy and freedoms to women and Christians in Muslim countries. Oh please!!
If our country were to shrink our nuclear stockpiles enough, keep in mind that such countries as China that now have fewer nukes than we do might move to match or exceed our diminished holdings, creating possibly unfriendly strategic peers.
There are other risks, too. Cutting US nuclear forces by 80% to 300 might force us to alter our strategic doctrine. Right now, we have a “counterforce” policy — we target opposition-nuclear forces. A smaller force will require us to put “counter-value” targets, that is, large population centers, in the crosshairs. No shortage of moral issues right there…don’t you think?
The world remains a dangerous place of rising powers, rogue states, Islamic radicals and much international uncertainty. As always and as in the past, it’s simply a good time for “peace through strength,” involving a healthy robust conventional, nuclear and missile-defense force.
Obama’s nuclear cuts are just another bad policy — in fact, it is VERY dangerous! It’d be a HUGE mistake for Obama’s nuclear nonsense to become a reality.