Do our nuclear weapons in the 21st Century really make the world more peaceful?

COL Korey Jackson — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 18:06:11 -0400

http://thefederalist.com/2015/08/06/why-nuclear-weapons-make-the-world-more-peaceful/

In the Federalist, Paul David Miller argues the following:

Why Nuclear Weapons Make The World More Peaceful

Strategic nuclear weapons raise the cost of war to prohibitive levels, and thus, paradoxically, make the world more peaceful. They are an ultimate guarantee of security, a final veto against aggression. No nuclear-weapons state has ever been invaded, and no two nuclear-weapons states have ever waged full-scale war against each other. (The closest exception, the Kargil Crisis between India and Pakistan in 1999, seems to support this idea: precisely because both sides had nuclear weapons, they worked hard to keep the mini-war in Kargil limited lest it escalate).

In Defense Of (Some) Nuclear Weapons

On the anniversary of Hiroshima, an explanation of why pursuing a nuclear-free world is morally simplistic.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 7:18 PM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 19:18:21 -0400

They still provide for the Mutual Assured Destruction scenario. There are a few rogue nations still out there who would use them if they could.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 9:57 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 21:57:28 -0400

Based on everything I have seen in the news, I am going to say no. The only that that those weapons do is keep others from using their nuclear weapons and turning everything into a glow worm

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Aug 6 at 2015 10:40 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 22:40:38 -0400

Nope. Thank God we had Cooler Heads and Generals on both sides in the Cold War, I'm not real sure about the Nicky New Kids with Nuclear Weapons. Can't put the Genie back in the Bottle unfortunately at this point. The only saving grace is that it is still Prohibitively Expensive and Hard to Produce even if you know what you are doing. Glad I'm not part of SAS (Sealed Authentication System) for Nuclear Weapons anymore. Still want to meet the nut job that thought it was a great idea to put a Torpedo on a Rocket with a Nuclear Warhead.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 10:49 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 22:49:21 -0400

Nuclear weapons in general actually do make the world more peaceful. There are specifics that are contrary, but more than one nation having them makes every military action questionable. Every leader must consider their potential annihilation before conducting an operation that may provoke a nuclear response from another nation.

What does not make the world more stable is the failure of states to control their nuclear arsenal.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Aug 7 at 2015 3:09 AM

SrA Matthew Knight — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 03:09:42 -0400

I am going with other. I would say that they are important and I don't foresee their retirement anytime soon. Reason being that despite what other countries such as Russia might say as far as the numbers of their weapons go I don't believe for a second that they are being honest about it. Wouldn't be hard to hide more weapons in places we don't look.

I will say however that with the exceptions of the world super powers such as the U.S., Russia, China and of course possibly (though unlikely) smaller rogue organizations nuclear weapons aren't the threat to the world that they used to be. The likelihood of their use versus something such as a terror chemical weapon or smaller isolated IED attacks on countries is low in my opinion. Nukes just aren't as scary a thought anymore as something such as chemical/bio weapons that could elongate suffering or IEDs which could be used easily in country with little to no warning of the impending attack.

Point is we should continue to maintain and upgrade our nuclear stockpile but our focus needs to and is shifting to the possibility of other, more realistic types of attacks on U.S. soil.