No Alternative to Deterrence?
Geyelin says, “There is Simply No Alternative to Nuclear Deterrence,” and I agree.
The arms race is nothing new. Nuclear weapons are as much a natural product of evolution as humankind itself.
Up to this point in history, there’s been nothing nearly as compelling as the nuclear threat to keep people from warring. Never before were there weapons that could, in effect, blow up in man’s face. So, for the first time, there is something to stop war--at least a big war--from happening. This isn’t to say that a big one won’t occur, only that there is now an impediment, and if the impediment were taken away, all hell could break loose.
As Geyelin states--and this thought is hardly ever mentioned in the general media--a conventionally fought World War III or a biological/chemical war might easily approach the total devastation of nuclear bombing.
People may feel morally repelled or outraged at the idea of being held hostage to a monster of our own creating, but that’s not really the case. The world’s apparent dilemma over weapons of mass destruction is a direct result of the system of evolution, and evolution is arguably amoral.
BILL SCHOHL
Los Angeles
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