Mr. Sawyer’s March 15 letter, “U.S. planning first strike nukes” correctly enumerates the major problems facing this country. Our militarism has made us the world bully. We now have armed forces in most of the countries of the world and are continuing to fight no-win wars over matters that are really none of our business. This imperialism is also very costly in U.S. soldiers’ lives, and is a huge drain on the nation’s finances, to the point where we will this year spend more than $700 billion on the Pentagon, and a whole $20 billion for infrastructure.
But most frightening is the apparent thinking of our military planners and top leadership — the one with the “bigger nuke button.” For them to even consider the use of tactical nukes is unthinkable. In the 1950s, when I served in the Army, the artillery had a short-range, nuclear-capable missile, the “Honest John.”
This missile was to be used against enemy troops. Thank goodness cooler heads prevailed, and it was never fired in anger. But those cooler heads had had recent first-hand experience with war, and the effects of bombings. Wish we had such leaders in high places now.
Along with the propaganda Sawyer mentioned I might add the resurrection of telling school kids that “duck and cover” is a defense against nuclear bombs. Has anyone ever wondered how many people in Hiroshima or Nagasaki “ducked and covered”? And how many lived to tell about it? There can never be winners in a nuclear war. Only losers.
Frank Baumann
Snohomish
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