On Trump, nukes, and world peace

The possibility of a nuclear war, as I have argued in my previous post, is now something the world must contend with now that Donald Trump is US President. As of this writing, the Washington Times reports that the White House has not talked about whether Obama will in fact entrust the codes to Trump, but also clarifying that the election has been decided. It is a reality because there is no constitutional restraint on the Commander-in-Chief’s authority to launch a strike. And now we are seeing an interesting realignment of alliances that do not give us much hope – a realignment that includes such players as China, Russia, Iran, Israel, Turkey. The proxy wars we have been engaged in over the past years will have consequences. Can Trump hold his temper and not be goaded onto starting an unnecessary war by the warmongering parties that profit off of conflicts, which marked the Bush presidency? With whom must he forge alliances to ensure a war-free future for America? Who should head our defense to avoid provocations? But perhaps we can also go beyond these questions. Maybe we can start asking why we have these warheads in the first place. We know the magnitude of devastation that a nuclear war can bring. Millions of lives lost – innocent ones mostly, and the irreparable damage to the environment. Already, even before it has started, activities related to keeping – and testing – these nukes have been damaging people’s health. If we think about it, it is a lousy argument to point to the existence of nuclear weapons in the hands of other countries, such as Russia, China, United Kingdom, North Korea, and Germany. When it comes to understanding this saber-rattling and who is threatening whom, it becomes a conversation filled with this childish retort: “He started it!” US chastises NoKor, which also points to the threats from US that supposedly inspired it to keep developing its nuclear weaponry. United States is presently home to the biggest military complex in the world. Politically speaking, it is in the best position than ever before to promote a better way to resolve misunderstandings, a way that does not involve guns and blood. In the interest of peace, it should rethink its role and its tactics and strategies. Then we do not even need to worry about whoever is handed a nuclear code that could destroy the world in an instant. Author's Note: This is a guest blog post by Rick Kimball, a writer, blogger and patriot. He believes in freedom, democracy and equality. To know more about him, check out his Facebook and Twitter pages.