esj@ihuxl.UUCP (J. Johnson) (11/28/83)
With all the hoopwah going on about deploying GLCM's & Pershings in Western Europe and the GGreat TDA Debate, I'd like to know if there's a consensus of opinion among Canadians about nukes and US nuclear policy. Do you feel protected by US ICBM's or threatened? If Detroit gets glazed, I imagine Windsor isn't going to be in very good shape,etc. How about Canadian based ICBM's? ihnp4!ihuxl!esj
mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) (12/03/83)
No one can speak for "Canadians", just as no one can speak for USAmericans.
For what it is worth, (being Canadian) I think that some level of
ICBMery has to be maintained, because I do believe that MAD works
in some respects. I think that the current level of weaponry is far
far higher than is necessary, and that there would be absolutely
ZERO reduction in security if all land-based ICBMs were destroyed
by the USA. The submarine missiles would be quite enough to serve
as deterrents.
The installation of Cruise and Pershings in Europe is sheer madness
(See Hans van Steeveren's article for a viewpoint that is shared
by many Netherlanders). It is madness multiplied when the USA refuses
to share computer technology with the Soviets, thus relying on their
obsolete technology to determine with absolute precision forever that
the Euromissiles are not being launched.
ICBMs in Canada? For what purpose? We are not close enough to any
major Russian centre to make things dangerous, as the Euromissiles do.
And for deterrent land-based missiles, US bases are just as good.
WE have no interest in firing any nuclear missiles, and if you do it,
we are just as dead. Why should we compound the folly?
Stepwise disarmament seems to be the only rational way to proceed.
At the present levels, it can be done unilaterally without reducing
the Western level of deterrence, but it would serve as a psychological
ploy. Even though the Soviets might not want to follow, world pressure
would probably force them to. Eventually, we MIGHT get into a situation
in which the threat no longer would be total destruction of the
living world.
--
Martin Taylor
{allegra,linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt