NUCLEAR CONFLICT By T.S.Khanna, January 11, 2018.

FOUNDATION FOR BETTER GOVERNMENT

NUCLEAR CONFLICT  By T.S.Khanna, January 11, 2018.

North Korea's ( NOKO) Kim Jong Un warns the US: " I have the nuclear button on my office desk."  President Trump responds: " I too have a nuclear button, but it is much bigger and more powerful....."

Some people argue that the spread of nuclear arsenal (Nukes) assures Global Peace.  The argument seems light weight in light of the recent hot exchange between NOKO's Kim Un and President Trump.  It is becoming more and more clear that if nukes keep spreading they will be used someday.

Apparently, there is a real danger of some powers blundering into the cataclysm of nuclear war.   Human being is at his worst when destructive part of his ego starts competing. The foremost issue now is what can be done to avert the foreseeable possibility of apocalypse.

Most countries, like NOKO, want to develop, on priority basis, at any cost, their own Nukes for the sake of prestige and then use them as a tool to blackmail bigger powers.

So far, the Nukes have been mistakenly considered "Self-Safe" as their use would harm the user as well, either by retaliation or otherwise.  Not any more, imagine the Nuke in a suicidal hand.

Another misconception about assuring restrictive or safe use of the Nukes is that instead of a single person, a group of persons may be given the power to authorize the use of Nukes.  Recently, the US Senate discussed the matter.  Use of Nukes would essentially involve a quick decision.  Quick decision taken by a group is not necessarily better than that of a single person; quite often it is worse.

Worldwide, there are approximately 15,000 nuclear warheads and over 75% are with the US and Russia.  Nuclear conflict cannot be small.  A major conflict scenario indicates that during the first day millions of innocent civilians will die.  The conflict will not decide who is right but who is left.

Through the efforts of a Swedish movement, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the issue of worldwide elimination of Nukes was brought recently in  the United Nations of 192 countries.  All the countries with Nukes, namely, the US, Russia, China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, and North Korea opposed the proposal of dismantling or demolishing the Nukes.

Unless the Nukes are eliminated, they will be used some day.  That day may not be too far away to think about.  The Nukes, around the world must be eliminated by dismantling or demolishing them.

We believe some country with Nukes, like India, should reconsider its position and take the lead in the campaign involving not only persuasion but also extensive public education to alter the public psychology.  Nukes may no longer be considered as a source of prestige and power but a matter of disgrace to possess weapons that can eradicate humanity.

With altered public psychology, Nukes may be regarded as the weapons of terrorists to be controlled, not of the legitimate governments to be used in conflicts.