MYTH: Nuclear weapons were needed to defeat Japan in World War II. Leading US military figures at the time, including General Dwight Eisenhower, General Omar Bradley, General Hap Arnold and Admiral William Leahy, disagreed. “It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of ‘face’….” Dwight D. Eisenhower Not only was the use of nuclear force unnecessary, its destructive force was excessive and civilians were not warned, resulting in 220,000 deaths by the end of 1945.

MYTH: Nuclear weapons prevented a war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Many people believe that the nuclear standoff during the Cold War prevented the two superpowers from going to war with each other, for fear of mutually assured destruction. There were in fact many deadly wars between the superpowers, carried out in Asia (ie: Vietnam), Africa and Latin America. In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis, another conflict between the U.S. and the USSR, came uncomfortably close to nuclear war. The Cold War was an exceedingly dangerous time with a massive nuclear arms race, and the human race was extremely fortunate to have survived it without suffering a nuclear war.

MYTH: Nuclear threats ended when the Cold War ended. In reality, a variety of new nuclear threats have emerged in the aftermath of the Cold War. Among these are the following dangers: • The US currently insists that it has the option of not only using nuclear weapons first, but also of using them against non-nuclear weapons states. This is an open invitation to nuclear proliferation.
• The US and Russia, between them, currently maintain some 3,500 nuclear weapons on high alert status. Thus, we’re in constant danger of an unintended missile launch.
• Nuclear states backing away from disarmament agreements to increasing their stockpiles.
• Increased possibilities of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.
• More nations with atomic weapons, increasing the potential for nuclear war.
• Use of nuclear weapons by accident, particularly by Russia, which has a substantially weakened early warning system.
• Civilian use of high enriched uranium, primarily in nuclear reactors, which can be used to build nuclear weapons.

MYTH: The United States needs nuclear weapons for its national security. There is a widespread belief in the United States that nuclear weapons are necessary for the US to defend against aggressor states and terrorists. In light of threats from the US to use nuclear weapons preemptively, other nations are likely to feel the same and will seek to manufacture their own nuclear arsenal (as in the case of North Korea). Since nuclear weapons are the only weapons that could actually destroy the United States, their very existence and proliferation threaten US security. In the interest of national security, the US should be leading the way towards immediate deep cuts in nuclear stockpiles and the eventual complete elimination of nuclear weapons throughout the world.

MYTH: No leader would be crazy enough to actually use nuclear weapons. U.S. leaders, considered by many to be highly rational, are the only ones who have ever actually used nuclear weapons in war, against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nuclear deterrence is based upon a believable threat of nuclear retaliation and it is likely that most, if not all, leaders possessing these weapons would, under certain conditions, actually use them. Just imagine the competition that could occur over vital, scarce resources. Assuming that leaders will not do so when they think their national security is threatened is unrealistic and very dangerous.

MYTH: Nuclear weapons are a cost-effective method of national defense. Some have argued that nuclear weapons, with their high yield of explosive power, offer the benefit of an effective defense for minimum investment. This is one reason behind ongoing research into lower-yield tactical nuclear weapons, which would be perceived as more usable. The total cost of nuclear weapons research, development, testing, deployment and maintenance, however, exceeded $5.5 trillion from 1945 through 1996, according to a study by the Brookings Institution. The costs and consequences of any use of nuclear weapons would be immeasurable.

MYTH: The United States is working to fulfill its nuclear disarmament obligations. Most US citizens believe that the United States is working to fulfill its nuclear disarmament obligations. In fact, the United States has failed to fulfill its obligations under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, requiring good faith efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament, for more than 30 years. The United States has failed to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and has withdrawn from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The 2003 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) with Russia takes some strategic nuclear weapons off active deployment, but has no provisions for verification or systematic reductions and it fails to adhere to the principle of irreversibility agreed to at the 2000 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. In the year 2012, the treaty will end, unless extended.

MYTH: Since the cold war has ended, the U.S. spends less on nuclear weapons
Between 1995 and 2004, annual costs increased from 4 to 7 billion dollars (in constant 2006 dollars). There are more weapons today, and more of them on ‘high alert’, than when the nonproliferation treaty was signed in 1970.

MYTH: There is nothing I can do about nuclear weapons You can join and/or get involved with: Peace Action Maine & Physicians for Social Responsibility www.psrmaine.org

Sources of above information: http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2003/07/07kriegerten-myths.htm http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2007/05/24ElBaradeiPreventingNuclearCatastrophe.htm http://www.nrdc.org/reference/topics/nuclear.asp DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration congressional budget requests and atomic audit, 1996, Brookings Institute