THIS month armed British and French nuclear subs collided – said to be a one in a million incident. Of course, if we keep rolling the dice long enough, accidents should be expected. In addition to the estimated 26,000 nuclear weapons still operational, we may soon find these weapons also deployed in space where American and Russian satellites also recently smashed together. How many more warning shots will we get? The world needs better political and judicial means of settling conflicts. For example, we could have a World Court with mandatory jurisdiction for states, and we could have a Parliamentary Assembly at the UN that helps build trust among peoples to enable gradual disarmament. Of course, some may feel this path is also a gamble. But isn’t encouraging human cooperation a better bet than chancing human destruction via nuclear catastrophe?
LARRY KAZDAN
Vice-President
World Federalist Movement Canada – Vancouver Branch