Tribune : Don’t get rid of them, please! Let them be there in the name of peace

In the wake of the anniversary of the bombing by the U.S of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which were completely destroyed by two atomic bombs which were dropped on the 6th and 9th August, 1945 respectively in retaliation of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, someone wrote an article recently entitled « Ban the bomb! » in a weekly magazine. While perusing the article, I understood that the writer means that all the nuclear bombs in the arsenals should be destroyed. We can understand his apprehension about that redoubtable weapon when we look at the extent of the damage and the death tolls caused by these two atomic bombs. He added that in the name of peace, it has become more than imperative to denuclearize the Planet Earth.

Let Them Be There!

If the author of the article is in favour of a total ban on nuclear bombs, I say No! Let them be there in the name of peace. I don’t know whether he means that the total destruction of nuclear weapons will bring a war-free world and an everlasting peace to humanity. Today it is an acknowledged fact that nuclear deterrents have contributed to world peace. They have been an effective deterrent to worldwide conflict and a watchdog for peace.

A deterrent is a necessity to the preclusion of any action. If you want to prevent anything from happening, a deterrent has to be set up somewhere to preclude its occurrence. If the world has known two world wars, it is because there was an absence of deterrent. Nothing was there to deter Adolph Hitler from launching the Second World War. Feeling that he was militarily invincible, he attacked Poland on the 1st September, 1939.

We can ask ourselves the question why only a gap of 21 years separated the two world wars (1918-1939) and why after more than 74 years, there has not been any world-wide conflict? The answer is because of the nuclear deterrents. If there had not been that deterrent named Nuclear Bomb, the world would have already known its third or fourth world war. After the U.S attacks of the two Japanese cities which were razed to the ground by the atomic bombs, the world was shocked to see the extent of the damage and the death tolls that a nuclear explosion could bring in its wake. It was even beyond the imagination and expectation of the users. The U.S themselves had never imagined that the nuclear bombs could cause so much havoc and kill so many people. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as goes the saying. « Il a fallu utiliser la bombe atomique pour connaître sa vraie puissance. »

Today the five nuclear powers namely the U.S.A, Russia, France, Great Britain, China, excluding India, Pakistan, North Korea, and apparently Israel have in their arsenals nuclear bombs which are more sophisticated and about 8 to 40 times more powerful than the bombs which were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In future any world-wide conflict will be a nuclear war. Today the world has realized the power of nuclear weapons, what havoc they can wreak if they are unleashed.

War Has Always Been A Dirty Business, But Nuclear War Has A Special Dirtiness.

It is said that only the crazy will spark off a third world war. In a thermonuclear war, there will be only losers and the Planet Earth will be annihilated. So it is unimaginable to conceive a third world war which will be a nuclear war.

Consequently there is not a iota of doubt that nuclear deterrents are an effective watchdog for world peace - don’t get rid of them, please! It is similar to having a Dobermann in your yard. Don’t get rid of that dog because it keeps the intruders at bay and enables you to sleep with your doors and windows wide open. So in the name of peace, don’t ban the bombs! Let them be there in the arsenals as watchdogs to prevent a third world war.

By Raj Paneken