Eliminate the Horror of Nuclear Annihilation
The floating memorial lanterns in Hiroshima’s Nakashima River (“Japan Offers Peace Prayers,” Aug. 7) are a poignant reminder of nuclear devastation, even 56 years after the event. However, compared to today’s stockpile, Hiroshima’s “Little Boy” bomb is but a firecracker. Its explosive force, equal to 15,000 tons of TNT, is 50 times smaller than today’s typical American or Russian warhead. Today, about 5,000 of these modern thermonuclear weapons stand poised on alert, ready to launch at a moment’s notice. That’s 250,000 Hiroshimas in the wings.
The Bush administration’s rejection of international protocols and treaties, and its deployment of anti-missile missiles in Alaska, will likely spark a new arms race--potentially exposing Americans to terrible harm. What can Americans do to defend themselves from nuclear war? Bush’s magic missiles? Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s weapons in space? No, Americans must, through political action, grasp their own defense and end this vestigial attachment to weapons of mass destruction.
Jonathan Parfrey
Exec. Dir., Physicians for
Social Responsibility
Los Angeles
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
