SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"No one wins a nuclear war," writes Alperstein. "Everyone loses." (Photo: Pete Linforth/Pixabay)
A Modest Proposal: Don't Start a Nuclear War
No one wants a nuclear war, ever. Why don't we have a policy against starting one?
Mar 05, 2019
In a matter of minutes, as easily as sending a tweet, a sitting U.S. president could decide to launch a nuclear attack, without anyone else's approval or authorization. In a matter of minutes, millions of lives would be lost, and millions of futures halted permanently.
At my organization, Physicians for Social Responsibility, we believe that we must prevent what we can't cure. And there's no cure for a nuclear war.
No nation on earth, including the United States, would have an adequate emergency response in the event of a nuclear exchange. Most Americans don't want us to ever engage in a nuclear war, and the vast majority of us certainly don't want the United States to be the ones to start a nuclear war.
The United States, like every other nation, has a vested interest in avoiding a nuclear conflict.
So much is at stake here -- not least for young people like me, who didn't grow up practicing "duck and cover" drills during the Cold War, as if hiding under a school desk would protect any of us in the event of a nuclear attack.
Yet unlike other countries, we currently have no policy against starting a nuclear war -- or what experts call a "No First Use" policy.
This opens the door to a possible preemptive nuclear strike. That weakens our national security, and it puts all our health and safety at risk -- for a nuclear war no one (except maybe President Donald Trump and John Bolton) wants.
Luckily, some people in Congress are looking to change the reckless status quo. This year, Rep. Adam Smith and Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation that would establish a "No First Use" policy for nuclear weapons in the United States.
"Our current nuclear strategy is not just outdated -- it is dangerous," said Smith and Warren. "By making clear that deterrence is the sole purpose of our arsenal, this bill would reduce the chances of a nuclear miscalculation and help us maintain our moral and diplomatic leadership in the world."
No First Use is all the more critical now that vital multilateral arms treaties, like the landmark Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between U.S. and Russia, are being ditched in favor of "out-innovating" everybody else, as Trump put it in his last State of the Union address.
Not content with our already outsized nuclear arsenal, the United States has put the first so-called "low-yield" nuclear weapons into production as well. Misleadingly named, these weapons contain the destructive power of thousands of tons of TNT. To an adversary, they would be visually indistinguishable from high-yield submarine-launched warheads.
If it sounds like a James Bond villain is hard at work manufacturing an absolute worst-case scenario, you're not far off. But in the real world, we won't be able to rely on a martini-sipping spy to save the day.
So much is at stake here -- not least for young people like me, who didn't grow up practicing "duck and cover" drills during the Cold War, as if hiding under a school desk would protect any of us in the event of a nuclear attack.
Young people like me didn't jumpstart a nuclear arms race, but we'll still pay the price. Our future is still ahead of us. We shouldn't have to inherit a world threatened by nuclear weapons -- or by the sheer expense of them.
A 2017 Congressional Budget Office report estimated that it would cost $1.2 trillion over the next 30 years to update, sustain, and modernize existing nuclear forces. That's money that could fund vital infrastructure, health care, jobs, housing, and education programs, and much more -- money we're wasting on weapons that would destroy our future.
No one wins a nuclear war. Everyone loses. The United States can and must lead by committing to an official policy of No First Use of nuclear weapons-- for all our health's sake.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
elizabeth warrenjohn boltonneoconnuclear weaponsphysicians for human rightsphysicians for social responsibilitytrumpismus houseus senate
In a matter of minutes, as easily as sending a tweet, a sitting U.S. president could decide to launch a nuclear attack, without anyone else's approval or authorization. In a matter of minutes, millions of lives would be lost, and millions of futures halted permanently.
At my organization, Physicians for Social Responsibility, we believe that we must prevent what we can't cure. And there's no cure for a nuclear war.
No nation on earth, including the United States, would have an adequate emergency response in the event of a nuclear exchange. Most Americans don't want us to ever engage in a nuclear war, and the vast majority of us certainly don't want the United States to be the ones to start a nuclear war.
The United States, like every other nation, has a vested interest in avoiding a nuclear conflict.
So much is at stake here -- not least for young people like me, who didn't grow up practicing "duck and cover" drills during the Cold War, as if hiding under a school desk would protect any of us in the event of a nuclear attack.
Yet unlike other countries, we currently have no policy against starting a nuclear war -- or what experts call a "No First Use" policy.
This opens the door to a possible preemptive nuclear strike. That weakens our national security, and it puts all our health and safety at risk -- for a nuclear war no one (except maybe President Donald Trump and John Bolton) wants.
Luckily, some people in Congress are looking to change the reckless status quo. This year, Rep. Adam Smith and Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation that would establish a "No First Use" policy for nuclear weapons in the United States.
"Our current nuclear strategy is not just outdated -- it is dangerous," said Smith and Warren. "By making clear that deterrence is the sole purpose of our arsenal, this bill would reduce the chances of a nuclear miscalculation and help us maintain our moral and diplomatic leadership in the world."
No First Use is all the more critical now that vital multilateral arms treaties, like the landmark Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between U.S. and Russia, are being ditched in favor of "out-innovating" everybody else, as Trump put it in his last State of the Union address.
Not content with our already outsized nuclear arsenal, the United States has put the first so-called "low-yield" nuclear weapons into production as well. Misleadingly named, these weapons contain the destructive power of thousands of tons of TNT. To an adversary, they would be visually indistinguishable from high-yield submarine-launched warheads.
If it sounds like a James Bond villain is hard at work manufacturing an absolute worst-case scenario, you're not far off. But in the real world, we won't be able to rely on a martini-sipping spy to save the day.
So much is at stake here -- not least for young people like me, who didn't grow up practicing "duck and cover" drills during the Cold War, as if hiding under a school desk would protect any of us in the event of a nuclear attack.
Young people like me didn't jumpstart a nuclear arms race, but we'll still pay the price. Our future is still ahead of us. We shouldn't have to inherit a world threatened by nuclear weapons -- or by the sheer expense of them.
A 2017 Congressional Budget Office report estimated that it would cost $1.2 trillion over the next 30 years to update, sustain, and modernize existing nuclear forces. That's money that could fund vital infrastructure, health care, jobs, housing, and education programs, and much more -- money we're wasting on weapons that would destroy our future.
No one wins a nuclear war. Everyone loses. The United States can and must lead by committing to an official policy of No First Use of nuclear weapons-- for all our health's sake.
In a matter of minutes, as easily as sending a tweet, a sitting U.S. president could decide to launch a nuclear attack, without anyone else's approval or authorization. In a matter of minutes, millions of lives would be lost, and millions of futures halted permanently.
At my organization, Physicians for Social Responsibility, we believe that we must prevent what we can't cure. And there's no cure for a nuclear war.
No nation on earth, including the United States, would have an adequate emergency response in the event of a nuclear exchange. Most Americans don't want us to ever engage in a nuclear war, and the vast majority of us certainly don't want the United States to be the ones to start a nuclear war.
The United States, like every other nation, has a vested interest in avoiding a nuclear conflict.
So much is at stake here -- not least for young people like me, who didn't grow up practicing "duck and cover" drills during the Cold War, as if hiding under a school desk would protect any of us in the event of a nuclear attack.
Yet unlike other countries, we currently have no policy against starting a nuclear war -- or what experts call a "No First Use" policy.
This opens the door to a possible preemptive nuclear strike. That weakens our national security, and it puts all our health and safety at risk -- for a nuclear war no one (except maybe President Donald Trump and John Bolton) wants.
Luckily, some people in Congress are looking to change the reckless status quo. This year, Rep. Adam Smith and Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation that would establish a "No First Use" policy for nuclear weapons in the United States.
"Our current nuclear strategy is not just outdated -- it is dangerous," said Smith and Warren. "By making clear that deterrence is the sole purpose of our arsenal, this bill would reduce the chances of a nuclear miscalculation and help us maintain our moral and diplomatic leadership in the world."
No First Use is all the more critical now that vital multilateral arms treaties, like the landmark Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between U.S. and Russia, are being ditched in favor of "out-innovating" everybody else, as Trump put it in his last State of the Union address.
Not content with our already outsized nuclear arsenal, the United States has put the first so-called "low-yield" nuclear weapons into production as well. Misleadingly named, these weapons contain the destructive power of thousands of tons of TNT. To an adversary, they would be visually indistinguishable from high-yield submarine-launched warheads.
If it sounds like a James Bond villain is hard at work manufacturing an absolute worst-case scenario, you're not far off. But in the real world, we won't be able to rely on a martini-sipping spy to save the day.
So much is at stake here -- not least for young people like me, who didn't grow up practicing "duck and cover" drills during the Cold War, as if hiding under a school desk would protect any of us in the event of a nuclear attack.
Young people like me didn't jumpstart a nuclear arms race, but we'll still pay the price. Our future is still ahead of us. We shouldn't have to inherit a world threatened by nuclear weapons -- or by the sheer expense of them.
A 2017 Congressional Budget Office report estimated that it would cost $1.2 trillion over the next 30 years to update, sustain, and modernize existing nuclear forces. That's money that could fund vital infrastructure, health care, jobs, housing, and education programs, and much more -- money we're wasting on weapons that would destroy our future.
No one wins a nuclear war. Everyone loses. The United States can and must lead by committing to an official policy of No First Use of nuclear weapons-- for all our health's sake.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.