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Obama should vow to halve the U.S. nuclear stockpile

Rather than apologize, Obama should vow to halve the U.S. nuclear stockpile, Japan Times, BY PATRICK PARR, 15 May 16,  If we are to avoid the drudgery of war, if we are to avoid being plunged across the abyss of atomic destruction, we must transcend the narrow confines of nationalism. Nationalism must give way to internationalism.”— Martin Luther King Jr., July 19, 1953

As of 2015, the United States and Russia have control of approximately 93 percent of all nuclear weapons. This staggering statistic is the legacy of the decades-long period of paranoia known as the Cold War.

In the United States, a country far more transparent about its stocks than Russia, nuclear weapons are divided into three categories: 2,080 deployed, 2,680 in storage and 2,340 that are “retired” — an odd way of saying they are simply in line to be dismantled. One missile blows up Manhattan, Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward or Higashiosaka, to put those numbers in perspective………

Cutting that number in half within the year would be a strong way of displaying a level of cooperation and respect toward other countries not in such a favorable position of authority. It would be better than an apology. It would be action. Or, as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., one of Obama’s heroes, put it: “When will a stupid world rise up to see that a ‘get tough’ policy cannot bring peace; universal military training cannot bring peace; the threat of the atomic bomb cannot bring peace; but only through placing love, mercy and justice first can we have peace.” http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/05/15/voices/rather-apologize-obama-vow-halve-u-s-nuclear-stockpile/#.Vzjo1TV97Gh

May 16, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general