My letter to the NY Times re: Nuclear Necessity Is No Myth

Re: The Myth of Nuclear Necessity

Dear sirs:
There is a parallel mindset between those who call for an end to nuclear weapons internationally and those who call for an end to guns nationally. Both assume that it is possible to prevent these weapons from falling into the hands of criminals, and both assume that, even if it were possible for these weapons to be banned, we would be safer without them. Both of these assumptions are false. Both Pakistan and North Korea shocked the world when they displayed the success of their clandestine nuclear programs. Furthermore, nuclear weapons make it possible for small nations to defend themselves from much larger ones. A case in point: Charles de Gaulle understood clearly that France's small nuclear arsenal was sufficient to deter the Soviet Union, and during the Berlin crisis of the early 1960's he prevailed upon President Kennedy and British Prime Mininster MacMillan to stand firm with him on Berlin.