tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post3574193984942661536..comments2024-03-24T19:55:32.537-05:00Comments on The View from This Seat: Three Cheers for Global Zero!LKSeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-91828970583742754892011-06-27T21:41:30.352-05:002011-06-27T21:41:30.352-05:00Peace is a holistic process. Abstracting out one s...Peace is a holistic process. Abstracting out one strand of the process may have marketing value, but it cannot succeed by itself. The early cold war was a very dangerous time, and one irony is that the various nuclear technologies developed by both the USSR and USA quickly spread to multiple players. For that reason it is extremely risky to continue development of new nuclear weapons that would be of high value to terrorists, such the so-called "suitcase bomb." However, that does not mean that we can roll back the nuclear system now in place, or that the world would be a better place if we did.<br /><br />Peace can only succeed when it is pursued in all dimensions together, a very slow and painful process. To take one partial example, consider Muslim flash-points with the non-Muslim world. From Kashmir to Chechnya to Palestine, a whole series of areas cry out for peaceful resolution. And that peaceful resolution would do more to further the aims of nuclear disarmament than the disarmament itself would.<br /><br />Unfortunately, peace demands even more. Resource scarcities and exploding human populations interplay in dangerous ways with financial instabilities and exploitive systems. Climate change and environmental disasters threaten widely. At this point in time, it may well be that, far from destroying humanity, nuclear weapons may have saved us from WW III, and maybe even WW IV. The dark options are truly terrifying.<br /><br />Jesus tells us to let the wheat and the tares grow together. We are to let our light shine in the darkness. Some day nuclear weapons will be obsolete. We must envision the world where that is so. Then we must make it so. The Kingdom of Heaven does not depend on banning nuclear weapons. The Kingdom calls us to something even bigger.Craig Dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00033176451913108084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-69788354739255875112011-06-25T14:42:45.714-05:002011-06-25T14:42:45.714-05:00I concur with Blane. This is a very noble concept...I concur with Blane. This is a very noble concept. But there are four other concerns I see.<br />1) Nuclear is the great equalizer. We could never win a traditional war with the orient - they have the numbers. And WMD: 2) Chemical weapons are easily produced. 3) Biological weapons are easily produced. 4) The genie is out of the bottle, and nuclear power is wide-spread (easily convertible to military uses), and we need that energy source.<br />As a side note, there are also new technologies such as EMPs, and not all nuclear weapons are massive - some are very small and tactical for taking out subterranean WMD facilities. (The final count of WMD found, which Hussein had stockpiled was near 500 - they had all been moth-balled.)<br /><br />Also, as you mentioned, not all peoples have compatible world view which can be negotiated with, regardless how big ones stick is. Comments in your previous blog note this problem, even among allies. What is trust without forgiveness?<br /><br />(Israel only had access two small research facilities for materiel - both now closed, much like the units at several of our state universities. It's doesn't take much, and the technology is readily available - rather amazing no one has used one, other than for testing, in a long time.)<br /><br />A global spiritual revival seems the best option...1sojournernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-55864473478339384552011-06-25T13:49:58.087-05:002011-06-25T13:49:58.087-05:00A faithful blog reader, commentator, and esteemed ...A faithful blog reader, commentator, and esteemed friend wrote in an e-mail, <br /><br />"Amen to that, Leroy! We need a renewed sense of concern for the danger our world faces from nuclear weaponry."LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-23741728019323658552011-06-25T13:03:36.206-05:002011-06-25T13:03:36.206-05:00I would like to say to Blane, and others such as a...I would like to say to Blane, and others such as another TF who sent an e-mail about this same concern, that certainly verification is a problem--and one that Global Zero is well aware of.<br /><br />But the main issue, as I see it, is not Syria or Iran getting nuclear weapons. The main danger is terrorists getting their hands on such weapons. And one of the main ways to eliminate that danger is to eliminate nuclear weapons in all the countries of the world.LKSeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-22388871769240301292011-06-25T11:38:06.596-05:002011-06-25T11:38:06.596-05:00The concept of eliminating all nuclear weapons is ...The concept of eliminating all nuclear weapons is very noble. And, in fact, I support the effort. One of the problems is that we do not even know where some of the nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union exist today. Also, could we trust Syria or Iran even if they signed treaties? Further, if inspectors go into countries, we could conceivably repeat wars similar to the one in Iraq. Remember George Bush's justification for invading Iraq?Blane Bakerhttp://www.jewell.edunoreply@blogger.com