Nuclear Weapons

Re Lee Butler’s “Eliminate All Nuclear Weapons,” Commentary, Feb. 3: What frightens me is Butler’s stand on nuclear disarmament. While the threat of the Cold War has dissipated, many other potential hot spots have sprouted the world over. North Korea, Iran, Iraq and possibly Syria are on the threshold of becoming nuclear powers. While these states may not pose an immediate threat to the U.S., they could easily threaten other democracies in their missile range, namely Israel, Britain, France and Germany.

As for deterrence theory, it is well documented that during the Gulf War Iraq had biological and chemical warheads that fit on Scud missiles. I am convinced that the Iraqis did not use these weapons on either U.S. troops or Israel because had they, it would certainly have necessitated a nuclear response. The nuclear genie is out of the bottle. The democratic nations of the world need to formulate new nuclear strategies in the post-Cold War world. Just because we respect human life doesn’t mean dictatorships will.

MICHAEL WEISER

Northridge