OPINION:
Joseph DeTrani has finally acknowledged that the chance of North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons is nil (“The North Korean existential nuclear threat,” web, Jan. 4). Despite this, he still believes we should persist in negotiating with that reclusive nation because North Korean representatives told him 20 years ago they wanted normal relations with the U.S.
For over 70 years, the established nuclear nations have relied upon deterrence by the threat of overwhelming retaliation as the means of avoiding the use of nuclear weapons. President Ronald Reagan attempted to reinforce this policy by adding some effective defense to cope with the limited attack that might be generated by a terrorist group or rogue nuclear nation that did not fear total destruction.
The U.S. has invested over $200 billion in nuclear missile defense, but it still lacks an effective system that could counter the level of attack we believe North Korea could muster in the near future. Anyone who wishes to avoid a catastrophic attack on a major American city should be advocating the necessary improvements in our current missile defense capabilities, not seeking ways to engage North Korea in further fruitless negotiations.
We remain in danger of falling into a similar trap with Iran as the Biden administration continues to attempt negotiations with that country on its nuclear ambitions. It is way past time for those who still believe in negotiation to accept that this takes two reasonable parties to come to a mutually acceptable agreement.
When dealing with countries that have no history of keeping their promises or adhering to agreements, we have to accept that when they state “death to America,” they mean it — and we must take whatever action necessary to deny them their objective.
STANLEY ORMAN
Rockville, Maryland
Please read our comment policy before commenting.