Letters: America’s costly nuclear forces

Re “The nuclear exemption,” Opinion, Feb. 26

I enjoyed Doyle McManus’ excellent piece on the cuts being made at the Pentagon and the lack of reductions being made to the nuclear force. One part stuck out: the fact the payments for new nuclear forces won’t balloon until 2020.

While that may be true, the policy decisions and contracts being signed now commit the U.S. to spend a lot of money — money that could be spent on other things, even inside the Pentagon. It is this attitude that needs to be challenged, has led to long-term debt problems and has resulted in a military unmatched to today’s threats.

If we don’t change policy soon, the U.S. will commit itself to spend $1 trillion on nuclear systems over the next 30 years. We can find better ways to spend our scarce resources.

Jon Wolfsthal

Washington

The writer is the deputy director of the Monterey Institute of International Studies’ James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

ALSO:

Letters: P.T. Barnum and bitcoins

Letters: Farm inspectors aren’t bullies

Letters: Who should fix L.A.’s sidewalks?