Nuclear Weapons (10/24)

The threat of nuclear weapons is a very real threat in our world today.

Arguably though, nuclear and other such types of weapons instead of peace treaties and diplomacy truly protect nation-states from the threats of their enemies. Learning about the ghastly effects of nuclear bombs put all this new technology into perspective. The atomic bomb releases millions of times more energy than its chemical counterpart of TNT. Fallout and radiation last for decades. Effects are even as extreme as causing nuclear winter where soot and dirt go up into the atmosphere and block the sun. Some believe that because nuclear weapons are so heinous a weapon they would put a halt to war and forge peace among nations. Obviously this is not true.

Professor Walker mentioned an important point in class that I have heard before. Some nuclear weapons are just too powerful to use in warfare. One of the points of war is to handicap your enemies in order to make them surrender, not to completely annihilate them. By just watching the clips of Big Ivan during class, I was completely speechless seeing the utter destruction it would inflict. The mushroom cloud produced was tremendous. It would make no sense to use these huge weapons in war. Why spend so much money developing these types of weapons if they will never be used? To me, they don’t even seem to be a menace to other countries, because we would never use them for moral reasons. So what good are they?

Similarly, why keep any nuclear weapons? Regardless of the plethora of treaties such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, atomic warfare is still seen as a threat. I understand the idea that they can be used for intimidation. If we totally got rid of all nuclear weapons and other countries had them, I’m sure that the people United States would feel extremely vulnerable. In essence, nuclear weapons serve as our safety blanket. We are the "biggest and baddest nation" and we have the most. No matter what, governments think that nuclear weapons are one of the most important bargaining chips in diplomacy during conflict. However, it seems irrational that we keep threatening other nations with them. While the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened decades ago, their effects are still fresh in many people’s memories. Seeing pictures of melted watches and burnt bicycles, people’s everyday things and entire lives being destroyed, made me want to cry. I believe that many people feel the same way. I for one can’t understand what would justify the use of these weapons. There are just too many moral issues involved.

This type of war, particularly, is so appalling. So that brings me to my point, if so many people object to the use of weapons and still get upset thinking about their use in the past, why do countries around the world still use them as a means of intimidation? It just makes no sense. Are we really that caught up in the “military-industrial complex,” as Eisenhower warned? America keeps building up arsenals and disarmament doesn’t even seem to cross government officials’ minds. What is even more ironic is that while we are doing this, America and other countries are preaching that they develop nuclear weapons in “peace.”