OPINION:
Ancient history may be subject to conjecture, but record keeping for the past few hundred years has left us with far less doubt about major world events. So why the annual review of the validity of the use of atomic weapons to end World War II?
The headlines of Victor Davis Hanson’s recent commentary (“Our annual August debate over America’s use of atomic bombs,” Web, Aug. 5), and Peter Vincent Pry’s piece the same day (“America’s atomic bombing of Nagasaki: Lessons forgotten”), rehash the arguments for and against the only use of atomic weapons. None of this pontificating can change the plain facts that the weapons were used or that they did bring hostilities to a rapid end.
Far more important problems confront us now, as proliferation of nuclear-warhead technology has spread to several nations, some of which are hostile to America and our allies. Throughout the Cold War, the five permanent members of the United Nations maintained that their possession of a nuclear stockpile was a deterrent against further use of such weapons. Several theories were developed justifying the possession of such weapons contributed to the maintenance of peace. Therefore it should have been no surprise that nations such as North Korea and Iran sought similar capabilities as a deterrent against their being unduly pressured, or even attacked.
Pragmatists amongst us accept that the weapons were used in 1945, and that attempts since to eliminate nuclear warheads could not be successful because the technology was too widely known. Yet despite these obvious truths, little attention has been given to how to maintain security in this proliferated world.
President Reagan made such an attempt in 1983 with his proposal to develop and deploy an effective missile defense. Although his introduction of SDI did lead to the breakup of the Soviet Union, it has yet to lead to the effective defense he envisaged. The world is sadly in need of the quality of leadership required to enhance security for all. We can be sure better security will not emerge from rehashing decisions made 75 years ago.
STANLEY ORMAN
Rockville, Md.
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