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We Should, So We Can: Life Without the Bomb
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We Should, So We Can: Life Without the Bomb
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by
Max M. Kampelman
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Washington -- In my lifetime, I have witnessed two successful titanic struggles by civilized society against totalitarian movements, those against Nazi fascism and Soviet Communism. As an arms control negotiator for Ronald Reagan, I had the privilege of playing a role - a small role - in the second of these triumphs.
Yet, at the age of 85, I have never been more worried about the future for my children and grandchildren than I am today. The number of countries possessing nuclear arms is increasing, and terrorists are poised to master nuclear technology with the objective of using those deadly arms against us.
The United States must face this reality head on and undertake decisive steps to prevent catastrophe. Only we Americans can exercise the constructive leadership necessary to address the nuclear threat.
Unfortunately, the goal of globally eliminating all weapons of mass destruction - nuclear, chemical and biological arms - is today not an integral part of American foreign policy; it needs to be put back at the top of our agenda.
Of course, there will be those who will argue against this bold vision. To these people I would say that there were plenty who argued against it when it was articulated by Reagan during his presidency.
I vividly recall a White House national security meeting in December 1985, at which the president reported on his first "get acquainted" summit in Geneva with President Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union the previous month.
In a remarkably matter-of-fact tone, Reagan reported that he had suggested to Gorbachev that their negotiations could possibly lead to the United States and the Soviet Union eliminating all their nuclear weapons.
When the president finished with his report, I saw uniform consternation around that White House table. Several of those present warned that America's nuclear missiles were indispensable. The president listened carefully and politely without responding.
In fact, we did not learn where he stood until October 1986, at his next summit meeting with Gorbachev, which took place in Reykjavik. There, in a stout waterfront house, he repeated to Gorbachev his proposal for the abolition of all nuclear weapons. Though no agreement was reached, the statement had been made.
More remarkably, it had been made by someone who understood the importance of nuclear deterrence.
What is missing today from American foreign policy is a willingness to be idealist and realist at the same time, to find a way to move from what "is" - a world with a risk of increasing global disaster - to what "ought" to be, a peaceful, civilized world free of weapons of mass destruction.
The "ought" is an integral part of the political process. The founding fathers proclaimed the "ought" of democracy in the Declaration of Independence at a time when America had slavery, property qualifications for voting and second-class citizenship for women.
Yet we steadily moved the undesirable "is" of our society ever closer to the "ought" and thereby strengthened our democracy.
An appreciation of the awesome power of the "ought" should lead the U.S. government to embrace the goal of eliminating all weapons of mass destruction.
To this end, President George W. Bush should consult with America's allies, appear before the UN General Assembly and call for a resolution embracing the objective of eliminating all weapons of mass destruction.
He should make clear that the United States is prepared to eliminate its nuclear weapons if the Security Council develops an effective regime to guarantee total conformity with a universal commitment to eliminate all nuclear arms and reaffirm the existing conventions covering chemical and biological weapons.
The council should be assigned the task of establishing effective political and technical procedures for achieving this goal, including both stringent verification and severe penalties to prevent cheating.
I am under no illusion that this will be easy. That said, the United States would bring to this endeavor decades of relevant experience, new technologies and the urgency of self-preservation. The necessary technical solutions can be devised. Now, as I can imagine Reagan saying, let us summon the will.
Max M. Kampelman headed the U.S. delegation to the negotiations on nuclear and space arms in Geneva from 1985 to 1989.
© 2006 The International Herald Tribune
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