OPINION:
Robert Monroe’s desire to turn back the clock three decades is terribly irresponsible and would make more likely that which he claims to want to avoid: Losing America (“Resuming U.S. nuclear weapons testing is crucial,” Web, Nov. 6).
There is a good reason that no country except North Korea has conducted a nuclear weapon test in the 21st century. It is the behavior of a rogue nation that cares not for the hostile message that nuclear weapon tests send, nor for the cascade of nuclear proliferation such tests could cause.
Mr. Monroe’s longtime position as a nuclear hawk may have helped him advance his military career during the Cold War and more recently to line his pockets as a part of private corporations that profit from the maintenance and production of nuclear weapons. But his transparent advocacy for a new nuclear arms race has no place in the civilized world. Nuclear weapons are designed to destroy cities and indiscriminately slaughter millions of people. A return to nuclear testing would make nuclear weapons more likely to be used, which would be a disaster for our nation and all of humanity.
RICK WAYMAN
Deputy director
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Santa Barbara, Calif.
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