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WAR AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS

By Larry Ross, August 15, 2003

Talk to 12 year olds at Christchurch South Intermediate School, 204 Selwyn St.

Greetings, it's a pleasure to talk to you today about some of the great problems which face the world.
(Optional insert) Some of these are about our environment. Scientists say we are polluting and poisoning our environment and that our growing population is rapidly using up the world's scarce resources, such as oil and water and forests. This causes such things as global warming which in turn causes heat waves, droughts and floods, and rising sea levels.) end of option

Today I am going to talk about the very serious problems of war and nuclear weapons.

Since the beginning of recorded history about 5,000 years ago, our species - mankind - has had thousands of wars. Firstly between tribes - then between city states, then between nations and then groups of nations called alliances. Thousands of years ago we used clubs and spears to kill each other. Then swords and bows and arrows. Then we discovered gunpowder. So we began using guns, cannons and bombs. We also discovered gas, and chemicals and germs, which we used as weapons. While millions of human beings were slaughtered in war, some of us struggled to develop methods to resolve disputes by peaceful discussions and by new laws

After the killing of some 50 million people in World War I from 1914 to 1918, we formed THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS to settle disputes by peaceful means. However the differences and disputes between states were too much. It failed and Adolph Hitler began to plan and arm for a new world war. He wanted the German Third Reich to dominate the world. He fed his people lies and hatred about the Jews and other nations. That propaganda made Germans ready to go to war to defeat these enemies. Italy and Japan joined Hitler and made war on England, France, Poland the US, Canada and other nations. We also are sometimes victims of propaganda without knowing it. For example, Britain and the US frightened everyone by saying that Saddam Hussein of Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, even nuclear weapons and he intended using them soon against us, and that he sponsored terrorists such as Al Qeada which bombed the twin towers in New York. We were told we had to strike first and fast, which we did. However it is found that Saddam never sponsored terrorism, did not have links to Al Qeada, had no weapons of mass destruction and no nuclear weapons, and had no intention of committing national suicide by attacking us. It was good to see the end of the cruel dictator Saddam Hussein, who was aided and armed by the US and Britain until he attacked Kuwait.
However Britain and the US lied to their own publics with war propaganda to get them in the right mood for war - like Hitler did to the German public to make WW2.
They also violated international laws and the UN Charter to do it - and risked setting off an international nuclear war. The new US targets may be Syria, Iran and North Korea - and perhaps in the future - China. So if you learn nothing else from my talk, remember to be very analytical and questioning about Politicians who want you to go to war against some supposedly evil dictator. Find out through research and reading, and the Internet, how true it is.

During this Second World War 1939-1945, another 50 million were killed. Our weapons were constantly improved - bigger cannons and bombs. We also discovered and used the atomic bomb on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. About 200,000 people were instantly burnt up, or died lingering painful deaths from radiation, from burns or from related diseases. We had never been able to kill so many people so fast. More and more it was the civilians rather than soldiers who got wounded and killed.

Then the cold war started between the US and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies. Huge numbers of nuclear and hydrogen weapons and gas, chemicals and germ weapons were made. The two sides were in what is called an "Arms Race". Billions and trillions of dollars were wasted preparing to wage nuclear war. There were great debates about who was right. Most people agreed that another big war would become
Nuclear and lead to the killing of the human race.

That's right we had made enough nuclear weapons to kill everyone on earth many times over. That's the biggest problem in the world today. We have not only made enough weapons to kill everyone, we spread billions on missiles and aircraft to deliver them. Then the cold war ended. There had almost been a nuclear war. By a miracle we avoided it. How long do you think we can rely on miracles to save us? .
We began to think maybe the governments would spend less on arms and lower taxes.
With the end of the cold war, there would be what is called "a peace dividend" It never happened. The arms races developed a momentum of their own. Too many people profited from making and selling weapons.
After World War II we supported United Nations efforts to develop arms and peace treaties that would stop the nuclear arms races before we stumbled into a nuclear war that could destroy us all. The UN Charter talked about "ending the scourge of war".
It had rules for the peaceful settlement of disputes. They wanted to outlaw war, because war caused so much death, destruction, starvation and barbaric behaviour. War is morally wrong because continued wars could expand - like WWI and WWII expanded.
The big difference today is that we could instantly deliver in a few hours, enough weapons to destroy all life. Although we have known that fact since WW2, there are now 8 nations that still go on producing and perfecting these terrible weapons. Mankind is behaving like he has always behaved in thousands of previous wars

NZ has consistently supported disarmament and peace efforts - mainly through the UN. It does not believe nuclear weapons give security but that nuclear weapons threaten everyone's security. So in 1984, when David Lange was elected Prime Minister, we became a nuclear-free nation. Some US politicians and military hated that. They are still trying to get us to change our nuclear-free law so that their nuclear warships may visit. But many Americans have written to say how much they admire and support NZ's nuclear-free stand.

Having any US warships here could make NZ a nuclear target. Even if US ships claim they are not nuclear-armed, US defence officials say they can be nuclear-rearmed at any time. A potential enemy would not know. Visiting warships, and US bases, bind NZ into US wars.

Military alliances have become like boomerangs. If you use them, they may come back and destroy you.

That brings us to today with 8 nations making nuclear weapons. They include the US, Russia, UK, France, Israel, Pakistan, India, China and perhaps North Korea.

I'll read to you what the Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, said on Hiroshima Day, Aug 6/03 about this situation.

What can we do in NZ about the problems of war and nuclear weapons?

1. You can study or read about war, weapons, peaceful solutions to disputes and current events in the world.
2. You can support efforts to keep NZ nuclear-free and for peaceful solutions to disputes.
3. You can write to the PM. She and some other Politicians sometimes speak about the evils of war and nuclear weapons. Encourage them to support peace and disarmament efforts from NZ and by the UN.
4. As you study and learn, you can pick out anti-war anti-nuclear groups you would like to support.
5. As you get older, you may become more active in stopping wars and outlawing nuclear weapons.
6. I promised to show you a display of anti-war and anti-nuclear badges and stickers. If you want to buy any, tell me which and I will sell them to you.

Larry Ross, Secretary, NZ Nuclear-Free Peacemaking Ass'n
Box 18541, Christchurch PH 388-9816
Email: nuclearfreenz@lynx.co.nz