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Sobering
Thoughts on
Nuclear
ArmsRace
by
Norman Cousins
Wben it tirst became known,
a quarter-century ago, that the·
onJy limits lO the destructivo
power of nuclear homb$ were
the 111tentions of tbe men who
made t!Íem, people tried to
comfort themselves wjth easy
assumptions. They IOid lhem–
selves thal nuclear weapons had
be<lome
so
horrible that no na–
tion would dare to use them.
Other assumptions bad lo be
6tted iniO place.
lt
had 10 be
assumed tlÍat 1here was no con–
nection between the kind of
thinking that was going into the
makiog of tbe bomb and the
kind of tbinkiog that would go
into the ruoning of a war.
lt
bad
lo
be
assumed that ¡be very
mwures
8
nation was taking lO
advance its socurity would be
abandoned wbeo tbat security
was most endangered.
1t
liad 10
be assumed that the nuclear na–
tions are jusi playing a game.
Al\er
all
the reasonin& wcnt.
nation.- might
·try
to impress
each other with their might but
they would never allow that
mi&ht 10 be<lome the holoeaust
that could consume lhe entire
human race.
The. only trouble with these
assumptions was that tbey
ran
counter
10
tbe l<>&ic of history.
Moreover, we now have
it
on
the aulhority or the top military
MIDEAST
(Cont/nutfi from ¡xzgt
J)
NoAlteroati•e
lsraeli .lcaders adroit that the
interim agreement as
it
now
stands may oot be the ideal
setup, but they continuo
10
stale
tbat Israel bad no alternativo
but to accept it. As Secretary of
State Henry Kissioger himself
Sa.id, any deetSioo Israel makes
at this time will involve a
gamble. The fact remains lhat
the risks Israel would have been
takjng by not ayeeio& to the
selllement are far greater than
those presented by accepting it.
lf Israel were to have de–
dined to go along with tbe ac–
cord, renewed hostility witb
Egypt would have been very
likely, and relations with the
United States would undoubt–
edly
ha
ve taken a nose dive.
Israel has no choice but to
work on the assumption tloat
Sadat is totally dedicated to
bringing the Egyptian economy
out or its current slurnp and that
he cannot afford &J!Other costly
- 4
planner of lhe United States.
Secretary of Defense James
Schlesinger, tbat this nation
would not hesitate
10
use nu–
clear hombs in any major con–
frontation . Scblesioger was
reftecting the apprehension of
our govemmcnt over the possi–
bility that other countries rnight
Íhink they conld press forward
wilh their P-Oiicies
10
our di$·
advaotage tf they believed we
were too squeamish to use the
nuclear force at our disposal in
lhe event of
a
sbowdown.
The emphasis Schlesinger
gave to his statement made it
apparent tbat he waoted people
10
take
him
at
bis
word.
Takiog
~chlesinger ~~
bis
word, therefore, we can dospose
or the notion that govemmeots
are too civilized to
use
nuclear
weapons. AH . the nuclear na·
tions, includi ng the Soviet
· Union, China and France, are
caught up in the same pattems
of response. Just as lhey bave
convinced themselves that
atomic weapons are an essential
patt
oC
their Coreign policy and
security strategy,
so
they
all
rec–
ogniu
thal.they must be pro–
pared- to go
a
U
lbe way if tbe
time should come.
We are forced bacl:, there–
fore ,
10
a conCrontation with the
realilies:-The firSt· reaJ!(y..
iS!hal
tite existing instruments of
peace and world organization
are too feeble
10
serve as a guar–
antee against war between ma–
jor powers.
l)>e second reality is that. if
war
sbould come. lhe eartb
Will
be roclced by man-made earth–
quakes, and no people, wher–
ever they may &e, will be safe.
war. The assets of the newly re·
opened Suez Canal plus the
money invested in rebu.ildin&
the arca around it would
seem
too yeat for him to risk by re–
ncwing hostilities with Israel
Danaerous "Loopbole"
Ooe arca in
which
the agreement
seems vulnerable is a clause in
wbicb Egypt states that it
will
not
use force agaiost Israel
in
the
eventofa conftict involvingSyria
and Jordan, providing Israel
i.s
oot the one who staru the fight·
ing. There is a glaring problem
with this clause. Aoy American
who has followed the news dur–
ing any previous Middle East
conflict knows that each side
will
inevitably blame the other for
staning thewar. Wbo is to decide
whicb pany was the oggressor'l
Who would Sadat choose to
be–
lieve?
As
wehaveseen in lhepast,
actual documentation or which
· party was the ag¡;ressor is oflen
not available until the war is
over.
Althougb the lsraeli govern–
ment is actuaUy giving up terri-
For it is in the oature of the oew
technology tbat no nuclear na–
tion can go to war against an·
other nation without also going
to war against tbe whole of the
human race, includin& iu
owo
people. There is no way of
keep1ng .the radioactive debris
from ftoatiog wilh the waters
and ridingwilh the wind.
The third reaüty is that we
are using up critica! time. Tbe
longer the arms race goes on,
tbe more likely it is that an in·
temational crisis will be<lome
the ruse ora nuclear holocaust.
Tbe fourtb reality is lhat
thinking people everywbere
have. 10 find some way of
emancipating theniSelves from
tbe day-to-day trivia and begln
10 thiolc and talle seriously
about a rule of
law
among na·
tions that alone
can
stop lhe
steady drifl toward a seoseless.
measureless and ultimate trag·
edy.
TIMOR
(Continutfi from page
J)
does oot waotto inteñere in lhe
interna! affairs of another coun–
try,
it
lllso
cannot remain indif–
ferent
10
wbat happens in
Portuguese Timor.
Trouble B""'i"l
oo
Allo~
Doo.rstep
As
serious as the Timor crisis
is from Australia's point of
view,
it is only one of severa!
serious problems loorning on
the Australian horizon.
Papua New Guinea - the
world's oewest nation which
was
granted independeoce by
Australia on September 16 -
continues to live under the
threat
oC
multiple secessions.
lt
is against this unsettled and
uopredictable background that
lhe former chairman of Austra–
lia's Atomic Energy Commis–
sion, Sir Plulop Baxter. has
called on the Australiao govem–
meot to advance
iu
nuclear
iechnology to the pre-weapons
manufacturing stage.
Sir Philip saod that those Aus–
tralians who beüeved that lhe
country would not be tbreat–
eoed militarily for al least an–
otber ten years were living in
a
fools' paradise. Warning Aus–
traliaos not to assume that Ja–
pan did not already bave an
a10mic bomb of ber own, Sir
Pbilip said that he sbuddered
every time a
~ovemment
minis–
ter told foreogn countries that
Australia had uniOid wealth in
The fiflh reai.ity is that tbe
cause ·of humanity is too pre.
cious to be eotrusted to the na:
tional statesmeo. They are
locked iniO their separate sover–
eigñties. They have no creden–
tials for serving this large
a
cause or for creating law bind·
in~¡ ~n
govern'!'ents. Their
ltJOorung
and
tbe1r rellexes .do-.
"'E
~
- - • ·
-- · --
01
e
1
nd lieyo d the national -.,,
Mr¡JCRATIC U('I ION (f.!DT) supporters on Portuguesa Tlmor
~nter~¡"
10
the h.::nao interesL
prsctrce wlth
a
smel/ rocksl/suncher.
Wbo. lhen,
will
step forwatd
to
fu<
the attention of the
world's peoples on the daoger
tbat confronu us all but
also
can unite us in creating
a com–
mon sanity and
a
common
sáfety?
C
aml'f...
MC:O.a.t.
Okt.
111)'
LotA...... ,_.
S,~
..
tory in oxchange for words
(wilh U.S. aid as the added in–
centive). it
i.s
contident that lhe
agreemcnt constitutes a prornise
that the words wiU be kept.
Jusi prior to the initialÚJg or
the aocord Defense Mioister
Peres was quoled as saying.
"We [Israel) would have liked
nothing better than lo give
more and receive more, but ap–
pan:ntly the Egyptians cannot
deliver it at this
time.~
Egypt, of course, cao no t
agree to a real peace with Israel
at
Ibis time, as lhat would
ere–
ate a giant
rift
in Arab unity.
And beyond that, there are still
deeply held suspicions oo tbe
part or Egypt toward Israel
lo
Jerusalem. the interim ac–
cord is not being called a
"breakthrough," even by !hose
wbo are staunchly behiod it.
Even tbougb it took an
enOTmOUS amount of time lO
achicvc, h is only- one small
step, which must be foUowed by
muc:h larger steps in the oear
futuro if peace ts to become a
reality in the Middle EasL O
Tbe m'ost serious cballenge
comes from lhe copper-rich is–
land of Bougaioville, but splin·
ter youps in other areas also
threaten tbe political stability of
the young nation.
lf Papua New Guinea does
experience a lengthy period of
bi«er factional fi&hllllg. it could
lead to
a
crisis of first-class con–
cero for Australia.
Still other national security
problems
are
looming for Aus·
tralia.
The imrnioent demise of tite
near defuoct SEATO, Japan·s
doubts over tbe reljability of
America's remaining defense
oommitmenu in Asia. and Rus–
sia
·s
grówing presence in the
western and nortbern ap–
proaches 10 the lndiao Ocean
carry an air of foreboding for
Australia.
Wbile SEATO's critics might
argue that tbe treaty os an
anachronism and that Asia will
be beucr off without it, its pass·
ing could nevertheless bave a
serious psychological impact on
oountries such as Thailaod and
tbe Philippines.
ACaU for a Nuelear
Austn.lia
While it is still too early to
gauge lhe specific long-term
ef–
fects
óf
these developmenl$ on
.th•
political aod military status
ofSoutheast
Asia,
it
is
not
difficultiO
see where they could lead.
natural resources.
wrhe minister is issuing an
opeo iovitation for us to be at–
_tacked.~
be said.
Sir Philip
su~ested
that if
Australia did decJde 10 produce
the homb within three or four
years and was williog to invest
.severa! buodred million dollars.
she c:ould develop tactical nu–
clear weapotl.s that could becar–
ried by her F-1
t
1
aircnlft.
01hercalls havebeco made for
Austro,lia to look to its defenses.
BrigadierTed Serong who acted
for many years as an advtSer to
the Soulh Vietnamese and U.S.
Hisb Commands, has gone so far
as
10
callthe run-down that has
talr.en place in Australian de–
fenses "treason." He wamed
Australiaos that tf tbey did not
reverse the ue.nd of recent years
and start spending more on de–
fense- and less on enormously
costly social reform programs -
they would bave to accept the
coosequences. "Wilhout an ef–
fective defense force." he
stressed, "forci&n policy i$ no
more than empty words; the va·
poring offools or knaves."
The Labour govemmenl is
comm.itted 10 the defense con–
cej>t of a "FortresS Australia."
AuJtralia'$ defenses start and
. end al
its
own shor.S. llut critics
point out that tbe ooncept can't
work
if
lhe fortress dOC$ not
bave any walls.
- Don
Abrsham
WEEK ENDINO SEPTEMBE.R
20.
1975