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"Collective
Madness"
Grips Humanity
by
Norman Coualna
MOSCOW: From lhe
mo–
ment the atomic bomb was
dropped on Hirosbima, the
rnain question before the world
was wbetber the human race
was intelligent eoougb to sur–
vive.
Here io Moscow, wbere
Americans and Russians bave
been
di.scu$sing ways of bring·
ing the atomic
arms
race under
control. a positivo answer to
tbat question seems more re–
mote than ever.
Tbe talks here have had little
difliculty in reaching agreement
about lhe dangers of lhe arms
race. But tbis concurreoce is not
lilcely to be connetted to aoy
speáfic prograro for cuttiog
bact on
milil.al)'
spending or for
reduciog the saturation stoclc–
piles ofnuclear weapons.
At least seven nations are at
the present producing nuclear
weapons, and at least a doun
more k.now how to l)lake them.
Sorne hombs now CJtist lhat
are as much more· powerful
\han \he fitst atonüc homb asan
antiaira-afl rock.et
is
more pow–
erful
than a shotglln blasl Tbe
nigbtmare that was feared thirty
years ago has now become a
4
reality. What has been happen–
ing is tbat the abil.ity of nations
to fashion devastatiog oew
weapons has far outraced their
ability to rnaintaio control over
Ibero or even to understand \he
full peril \bey represen! to life
OD
ear\h.
Here in Moscow,
1
bave been
futening to \he excbanges of the
weapons specialists. Tbey bave
a Strangelovian vocabulary
aH
their own. Tbey talk about
tbrow-weigbt, megatonnage,
graduated deterrence, first- and
second-strike eapability, re–
tained reta liatory optioos,
MIRVs and MARVs.
The danger of thls jargon. of
COilrse, is that it becomes ao
ae–
ceptable way of discussing \he
rnurder of hundreds of millions
of human beinp. F.or \he jar–
gon obscures the most bideous
fact of al! ahout nuclear war–
fare; namely, tbat the nations
using these weapons have not
conlined the death they produce
to the enemy population. The
main identifying cbaracteristic
of thc new warfare
is
random
annihilation - radioactivity is
oo respecter ofordcrs.
Let there be no mistake ahout
it. What is now pending is no
longer a war by one nation
against anotber but a man–
made bolocaust that
will
con:
sume human beings and their
civiliutions far outside tbe
houndaries of tbe warring
pow–
ers.
The new warfare wiU put a
torch to the global viUage that is
n.ow lhe world.
Tbe fitst thing tbat is needed
is to de-mystify the language of
the new warfare and to call
things by lheir rigbt narnes.
The word "security" is the
first word that has to be rescued
from the new lexicon ofdouble–
tbink. Supposedly, the arms
race is a way of pursuiog "secu–
rity." Yet the resul t of tbe arms
race
so
far is not greater security
but grcater insecurity.
. The United States and tbe
Soviet Union are staggering un–
der \he
weigb~
of a mammoth
surplus of nuclear explosives.
Yel tbe manufactme and
stock–
piling of \bese
weapons
goes on
at prodigiollS cost to hotb
so–
cieties~
with
less "security"
tban when \he stoekpiling be–
gan.
Tbe conclusion ls inescapable
that the major governments are
now in the grip of a reciproca!
insanity. For behind
aiJ
lhe or–
namentalion of language and
.the apparcnt facade ofscientific
intelligence is tbe terrifying fact
that the human raoe today is at
the merey of a coUective mad–
ness.
lfwe are lo retain any respect
for the preciousncss of life or
for the delicate fabric of civ–
ilizalion, sorne way
will
bave to
&e
found to restore sanity
10
tbe
behavior of nations and to tbeir
idea ofbow lo aehieve SCCilrity.
A-PLANT
SALEGOESON
OTTAWA, June
5,
Reuter:
Canada today refused
10
rule
out further sales of its Candu
nuclear reactor even tbollgb tbe
plulonium prooessed by the re–
actor could be
used
for non–
peaceful purposes.
Prime Minister Pierre.
Trudeau and Externa! A.lfairs
Minister AUan Mac Eachen de–
ftned the government's position
in the House of Commons
loday afler Conservativo oppo–
sition leader Robert Stanlield
c:alled for suspension of a
planned sale ofa Candu reactor
to Soutb Korea.
Mr. Stanlleld bad charged
that lhere was no way Canada
could prevent plutonium from
one of the Canadian reactors
being used for nonpeaceful pur–
poses.
Mr. Stanfield asked tbat tbe
government SllSpend lhe sale of
a reactor to Soutb Korea in
view of possible con.dict
be–
tween Nor\h Korea and South
K
orea.
Mr. Mae Eacben refused and
said Soutb Korea had ratified
the nuclear non-proliferation
treaty. O
by
Gene H. Hogberg
The
Nuclear Genie
ls
Out
Tbe world, according to barried disarmament experts, has
entcred its "second nuclear age."
They define the "first nuclear age" as the period when the
United States and the Soviet Union monopol.ized nuclear weapons
in tbeir M balance of terror" standotr. The second nuclear age, now
piclung up momentum with the rapid spread of nuclear technology
worldwide, could I"C$ull in upwards of tweoty nations having their
own
atonüe weapons
by
198.S - only ten
years
Crom oow. Within
the same comiog decade. forty countries
wiiJ
bave "peaceful"
nuclear power facilities generating c:lectricity - thus possessing the
lirst necessary increrneot to
exer~ising
tbe "nuclear option."
Until recently the United States hoped lhat the spread of
nuclear weapons could be checked vía intemational agreements,
sucb as the 1968 Nuclear Nonprotiferation Treaty. Under its terms
three nuclear powers - the U.S., the Soviet Union, and Britain -
pledged not to help nonnuclear nations acquire atomic weapons.
Al the saroe time the \bree promised to work toward disarmament
to discourage the desire oo tbe
part
of others to "go nuclear."
The noonuclear nations wbo agreed to tbe NPT in tum
pledged to forego developing their own atonüc arsenals. They also
agreed to open up their own peaceful nuclear generaliog facilities
to inspection by teams of inspe<:tors from the U.N. lntemational
Atomic Energy Agency. The IAF.A technicians were to malee 5ure
fissionable by-products from the reactors were aU totally accounted
fe>r, not " lost" or divened
intosub rosa
weapons manufacture.
But
aiJ is
not weU with tbe.NPT - for several good reasons:
- Half of the present six members of \he nuclear club -
France, China and India - have never agrced to the accord.
- While 86 nations have ratified the treaty, over
SO
COilDtnes
have eitber ignored or 5igned it but failed to ratify itlsrael,
Egypt.
Pakistan and Spain are_among those wbo have not 5igned and
5how no intention of doing so. Japan has signed tbe treaty, but
once again a controversy in the Diet has prevented its ratilication.
- Even COilDtries that are pnrty to the treaty retain the option
to "go nuclear" at any futurc date since the text of the treaty
-provides that any signatory can withdraw on tbree montb's notice.
- The supposed big ímpetus behind the pact in tbe first place
- tbat the big powers would dil.igently wodr. toward disarmament
- simply is not comiog otr. Almost every week there are announce.
ments of monstrow new missiles and warheads being tcsted or
deployed by the Soviets or breakthrougbs in nuclear technology on
the part oftbe United States.
- The rapid expansion in commercial sales of whole "peace–
ful" nuclear plant complexes
is
lhreatening to overwhelm inter–
national inspe<:tion controls. According to one estimate, even if all
safeguards are 99.9 percent etrective by 1980, enough pluton.ium
could be diverted without detcction to produce nuclear weapons at
the rate of one perweek.
"Peaceful" technology is now tbe biggest danger of
aiJ.
in the
aflerrnatb of lndia's explosion of her Mnudear device" last year.
1t
was the fitst time that a reactor - instaUed ostensibly for peaceful
purposes - bad beco employed
in
providing 6ssionable matenal
for a homb.
As
Fred C. lkle, Dire<:tor of \he U.S. Arrns Control and
Disarmament Agency wams: "Now it
is
the peaceful technology
that provides not only thc means, but the cover, in all cases where
we fear that a new weapons program migbt be on the way."
The simple fact is that sígnatures, pledges, and solemn agree–
ments mean next to notbing to eilher 'an irresponsible govemment
or any nation fearful of wbat a nuclear-arrned adver$8ry migbt be
capable of doing to il
Thus, after being capped for nearly tbree decades, the Nuclear
Genie
is
at last out of the hottle. There is simply no way nuclear
protiferation - a.nd mass destruction as a result of
ll -
tS
gomg to
be stopped now short of lhe intervention ofGod Almigbty himself.
"And except lh05e days should be shortened, lhere should no ftesh
be saved" (Matt. 24:22).
CJ
WEEK ENDINO JULY 12, 197S