From the Independent
he west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the “imminent” spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new Nato by five of the west’s most senior military officers and strategists.
Thankfully cooler heads capable of long term thinking present another perspective
While there is much to commend in the “manifesto for a new Nato” by five of the west’s “most senior military officers and strategists”, your report was right to highlight their misplaced support for nuclear weapons (Pre-emptive nuclear strike a key option, Nato told, January 22).
Their view that “nuclear weapons – and with them the option of first use – are indispensable, since there is simply no realistic prospect of a nuclear-free world” is certainly not shared by four veteran US cold warriors – former secretaries of state George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former secretary of defence William Perry, and former Senate armed services committee chairman Sam Nunn – who are leading the call for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. All three Democratic presidential candidates have endorsed this vision as well as the progressive steps needed to realise it.
