Letters
Keep nuclear weapons
05 December 2006
Dear Sir
Edward Barrow draws an invalid analogy between nuclear disarmament and abolitionism. The decision to end the slave trade was morally justified but it did not threaten Britain’s survival as an independent nation. But in an increasingly interdependent world, an act of unilateral nuclear disarmament would immeasurably damage our standing in the world, sending the wrong signals to rogue regimes with their own nuclear ambitions. Barrow presumes that if we abolish nuclear weapons, other states will follow our example but this is an act of faith, not political certainty. It is reminiscent of the arguments of high minded idealists in the 1930s, who placed their trust in the League of Nations, rather than expensive rearmament programmes. As it is surely impossible to predict the threats to this country’s interests in coming decades, we should maintain a credible deterrent against aggression for the foreseeable future.
Yours sincerely
Jeremy Havardi
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