On Tuesday, the Obama administration announced plans to seriously limit when it is appropriate to use nuclear weapons. Obama made it clear that, even in self-defense, nuclear weapons would never be an option — even if the United States had just suffered a chemical or biological weapons attack.
I think most people can agree that nuclear weapons are bad. One hears the word “nuke” and immediately conjures up images of mushroom clouds and Hiroshima and Nagasaki being blasted back into the Stone Age. It is a horrible weapon that can inflict an awful lot of damage in a short amount of time. But it is also the most valuable and important weapon mankind has ever developed.
The nuclear weapon is a deterrent. Since its creation in 1945, there have been no major or global wars to speak of. Wars that have occurred since the end of the Second World War — wars such as Korea and Vietnam — have been localized, proxy wars that really never carried the threat of spilling over into the rest of the world.
Nuclear weapons keep madmen like Kim Jong-Il of North Korea and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran at bay. Remove the threat of a nuke exploding over one of their cities and they may be more willing to engage in a conventional war with the countries around them.
Many people will argue that nuclear warfare is inhumane. That’s exactly the point. It’s a peacekeeping weapon. Its very existence makes world leaders think twice about doing something rash, thus keeping more people alive as a result. The consequences of a nuclear war are too terrifying to imagine and most world leaders will choose diplomacy over war every single time.
With Barack Obama slowly removing the threat of nuclear retaliation, the world will slowly become a more dangerous place. The United States needs the nuclear option even if that option is the absolute last resort. The fact that the option is even there will make rogue world leaders think before they act.
The memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are burned deep into the world’s psyche. Most rational people look at the images from those two cities and hope such a fate will never befall a city ever again.
That is the power of the nuclear weapon. The simple fact that the weapon exists will make sure no world war will ever break out again. Remove that threat and one cooks up a recipe for disaster.
Instead of reducing our nuclear capabilities, Obama should be focused more on disallowing terrorist organizations from getting their hands on nuclear warheads. That is the real danger. The United States will never use the nuke as a first-strike option. Obama should focus more on weakening our enemies rather than weakening the United States.
Brandon Feazell is a junior majoring in history.
