Try mobilizing rapid diplomacy
Re “NATO rapid-response military force proposed,” Sept. 19
NATO, a Cold War club that is steadily expanding eastward, is now proposing a rapid-response military force to counter Russian threats.
NATO has hundreds of American nuclear weapons in Europe, on Russia’s doorstep. The U.S. is building an unworkable missile defense system. The Russians feel threatened. It sounds to me as though what we really need is a rapid-response diplomacy team, sent to tell all sides of this budding conflict that the Cold War is over and that people have had enough of living under the shadow of 26,000 nuclear weapons.
It is in everyone’s interest that the two sides find a way to coexist peacefully. I feel fortunate to have grown up in the waning days of the Cold War. I never had to duck and cover in school. Let’s keep it that way.
Rick Wayman
Santa Barbara
The writer is director of programs for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
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