Exploded, 1,000 nuclear warheads would make planet uninhabitable

To The Daily Sun,

On a recent Diane Rehm Show (NPR/NHPR), a guest recounted that when he was a young white Southerner, he thought it was his due to be served his ice cream cone before a black customer ahead of him in line, that customer also a child. The lament was we lead our children to follow our practices, no questions asked. Not until the guest was a college student in the North did he review his attitudes and see his racism.

Following up, we are akin to unquestioningly obedient children to believe that military choices are good and deserve funding. Period.

The current catalyst, magazine of Union of Concerned Scientists, points out that under President George W. Bush a homeland missile defense system costing billions of dollars was put into "rush" mode and exempted from the usual oversight procedures. "Shielded from Oversight" by Elliott Negin can be read online. In 17 tests of this ground-based-midcourse-defense system, nine have failed. Of "nine intercept tests, only three succeeded in destroying their targets."

In the same issue Laura Gregg, "rocket scientist," judges that the GMD described above "could prompt decision makers to act more aggressively than they might otherwise, which could actually increase the risk of an adversary launching nuclear missiles at the United States."

Long ago, 1983, the TV movie, "The Day After," caught the public's attention that we are always risking nuclear war, armed as we are with missiles — and ours that target other missiles also condemn us to being targeted.

Between the U.S. and Russia we have 14,000 nuclear warheads. One thousand of them used would make our planet uninhabitable. Folks, this is about the end of culture, families, nature, everything. Time to tell our decision makers (and presidential/congressional candidates) to take our missiles off hair-trigger alert, and time to question a new trillion-dollar nuclear buildup. Oversight needed with that destabilizing GMD? Appropriate questioning and common sense needed altogether.

Lynn Rudmin Chong

Sanbornton