The Iranian Nuclear Debate – The End of Atomic Warfare

The Iranian Nuclear Debate – The End of Atomic Warfare

By Siegrid Raible

Seventy years ago on August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. No one knows how many lives were instantly blown away. Some estimates put the loss of life within the month after the bombs were dropped at 150,000. The continuing effects of radiation exposure are on-going. Nine known nations have developed atomic bombs with approximately 10,000 – 11,000 atomic weapons deployed around the world. It has been argued by some that this proliferation of weapons acts as a deterrent and has kept the world from destroying itself.

Today there is much discussion concerning the no nukes deal arrived at in July 2015 between the U.S., China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran. The pros and cons of this pact are not addressed in this essay except to note that there are already enough atomic weapons to annihilate life on this planet many times over, which should be a good enough reason to prevent the development of any new devices.

The amount of money invested in our mutual assured destruction is incalculable. Is there no alternative? To me the alternative would be to invest that money in people and building a more peaceful world.

An alternative occurred to me one day last week while riding on the subway going uptown when I happened to catch the person sitting next to me playing a video game on his smart phone. Suppose we could invent a game that would put an end to wars; what if we could organize some sort of Peace Olympics where nation states compete for a monetary prize. That prize would be the equivalent of the monies that would have been invested in developing atomic weapons (or any weapons for that matter) and would be awarded to the victorious nation with the proviso that it be spent to benefit its people. If it caught on we could make it an annual celebration of life.

If it were possible to end war by replacing it with “war games,” what sport/s should be considered? Boxing or wrestling perhaps? What games would you chose? Why not a digital game? Anything, but war.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *