The event really was a blow to my faith in my generation, as well as humanity in general.
At this point I think that a total disarmament is far off. Im not being a blind idealist. Some nations have Nukes, thats a fact. Other nations want in, or get in as a byproduct of developing nuclear power. I think the best course of action is anti-proliferation lead by the US and other key nations (most of which I would consider US allies, and willing to join the cause). If we are trying to instill in other nations that nuclear weapons are not necessary, we might try to lead by example (as others have said).
And my compliments for the references to MAD. A concept we discussed much in US History. I think that some persons have lost sight of that. I dont know of any conservatives directly supporting the development of NEW Nuclear Weapons. The poor sod on my campus today is just blissfully ignorant. He is too young, as im sure most of us here are, to have any recollection of Hiroshima or Nagasaki - but we have all been taught (on some level I hope) of that great atrocity. (ON that note, its peculiar that the US so vehemently opposes acts against humanity, and yet we are the only nation to ever use a nuclear weapon on another, *ahem* TWICE). Perhaps the concept of MAD is completely foreign to him, who knows.
I do know that our standard ICBMs, Polaris missles in the US (I dont know the European counterpart names) are roughly 100 times stronger than the TWO bombs dropped on Japan combined. Honestly, how could we possibly need something new...do we need something stronger? And who in their right mind would ever authorize the use of that...which I can almost assure you would lead to the end of the human race as we know it.
As most of you agree, this isnt meant to persuade. Im still venting. Ive spent the afternoon since creating this thread trying to understand how a person could think the way that guy does...no success.
Thanks for the feedback guys, feel free to continue the commentary or change the subject. I would love to have a civil thread about semi-political/global questions.