10nfl1-Nukes-Cover
FULLY GETTING RID OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IS IMPOSSIBLE
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| FULLY GETTING RID OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IS IMPOSSIBLE (Colin Gray, Professor of International Politics at the University of Hull, To Confuse Ourselves Nuclear Fallacies Alternative Nuclear Futures, ed. Baylis and OʼNeil, 2000, p. 8-9) Nuclear abolition is impractical because, unless time travel becomes feasible, 'the nuclear discovery' by the Manhattan Project in the Second World War cannot be undone. To argue fora policy that is inherently and permanently impractical has to be foolish, given that it can raise public expectations that cannot be fulfilled, it wastes scarce intellectual effort, and it can serve as a counsel of perfection that destabilizes more sensible nuclear policy The idea, or standard, of abolition is not merely irrelevant to the security challenges that attend nuclear armament, however, it is irrelevant in ways that could damage security. Readers may recall that, although the Intermediate range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of 1987 was overtaken rapidly by the political events of the meltdown of the Soviet empire, during the years of its negotiation it was a menace to the political legitimacy of NATOʼs nuclear dependent defense doctrine" Given that arguments for nuclear abolition plainly are impractical, and that many of those who have associated themselves with abolitionist sentiments are genuinely nuclear experts, one is at a loss to know how to characterize those peoples views other than uncharitably Experts, those whose reputations for expert knowledge lends credibility to a debatable cause, should not advocate a process that looks to accomplish complete nuclear disarmament when they know that that process must fail. 10NFL1-Nuclear Weapons Page 133 of 199 www.victorybriefs.com Download 1.23 Mb. Share with your friends:
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