Recently, I visited the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), where once 928 nuclear bombs were exploded — 100 above ground, the rest underground.
Standing next to the Sedan crater, one of the largest man-made craters in the world, one cannot help but have a fuller appreciation of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s paraphrasing, “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” The Sedan crater, created by an underground hydrogen bomb five times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, exposed more than 13 million Americans to radiation.
The NNSS was scheduled to perform an underground test (“Icecap”) determining an ICBM warhead’s ability to survive low temperatures in its delivery arc. The towering equipment remains as testing was halted through the observance of a moratorium on nuclear explosive testing signed into law, and adopted by each subsequent U.S. president.
The NNSS remains a facility critical to the defense of the United States. It’s most secure functions are performed underground, where nuclear weapons are disassembled, evaluated, modernized and reassembled, before returning to our nuclear arsenal. It guarantees the function of the retaliatory part of the U.S. defense strategy.
Which brings me to my point. Our defense strategy relies not only upon the weapons, but on the decision-making of our military and our leaders, whose conscience and character will weigh when or if the capacity to unleash thousands of nuclear weapons will be used in a retaliatory response.
As we go to vote in November, the leader we choose must be of the best character, to think rationally, exercise wisdom under severe stress, while having the best interest of our citizens. We should choose a leader who wakes up in the morning and goes to bed at night thinking about how to protect and improve our lives. Our leader should be able to discern the truth, to tell the truth, to defend the constitution, to not be petty, to be transparent and to bring out the best in others, even our adversaries.
Please consider these matters carefully as you exercise your right to vote.
Walter Rhinehart, Bradford
