How I Learned to Stop Rationalizing and Hate the Bomb

Since their creation, nuclear weapons have several roles and uses that move far beyond physical intentions. When constructing a nuclear arsenal, some nations view nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence, something intended to make the opposing side think twice about a first strike. For the United States, their nuclear arsenal means something different. Nuclear weapons in the United States far exceeded deterrence when their arsenal reached twenty-two times the number of nuclear weapons of any other country, second only to Russia (Reichmann 2019). The goal of the United States nuclear army is not to protect their nation but to ensure control over all competing ones. During the Cold War nuclear weapons were employed as an anti-communist destruction project and in today’s society, they are used as an illustration of power, to both Americans and the rest of the world. Nuclear weapons play a key role in this ideological war, the United States wields its nuclear warheads as a means of control to paint its democratic system as the only viable option.

Following the Second World War and throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union posed a major threat to American power. Not because of an overly powerful army or a largely threatening weapon arsenal, but because they offered a different way of thinking. Communism poses a larger threat than any physical army because to allow American citizens to see a way of life that does not leave the vast majority of people in poverty is to shatter the American dream. Perry Anderson understands this in his book American Foreign Policy and Its Thinkers. Anderson outlines this threat and argues that “the threat posed by the Red Army had to be deterred with a superior arsenal of destruction. With the obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Washington appeared to possess that: a warning to Moscow even before the Pacific War had ended” (Anderson, 48, 2013). There were many reasons that the United States government saw it justified to drop two atomic bombs on Japan, none of which were to end the war. The chief among these justifications was the illustration of power. The atomic bomb sent a message to all other nations that the United States was a force to be reckoned with, but above that, it sent a message to fellow Americans that the United States was the most powerful country in the world. What is communism in the face of all that?

One of the ways nuclear weapons are used today is through their continued advances and modifications. An article written by Kelsey Reichmann in Defense News concerning nuclear warheads highlights this fact, Reichmann writes “the U.S. is in the process of modernizing its nuclear arsenal per the Trump administration 2018 Nuclear Posture Review… the NPR moves away from reducing nuclear weapons and instead sets a plan to develop new versions while and modifying others” (Reichmann 2019). If the goal of nuclear weapons was deterrence, the continued growth and development of nuclear weapons would not be necessary for a time of supposed peace. Instead, the growth of this weapon arsenal is meant to illustrate power and manufacture control over other countries. Matthew Grant and Benjamin Ziemann highlight this role of power in the implication of using nuclear warheads in the first chapter of Understanding the Imaginary War, “Introduction: The Cold War as an Imaginary War”. Grant and Ziemann argue that military weapons are used beyond the battlefield, that the mere representations of them are deployed as an instrument of power (Grant and Ziemann, 1, 2016). The United States does not need to use nuclear weapons to highlight their power, they simply need to show that they have them and are capable of making more that are even more advanced than previous models.

Nuclear weapons are also used as a tool of power through their presentation. Donald Trump wields the United States nuclear warheads both through his threats to use it and his expression of how large his arsenal is. This is detailed in a CNN article written by Zachary Cohen and Brian Todd covering what it takes to launch a nuclear strike. They outline a tweet by Donald Trump boasting his large nuclear “button” and claiming it is much larger and more powerful than that of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (Cohen and Todd 2018). This highlights a significant part of the nuclear weapon as outlined by Perry Anderson. Anderson cites Nicholas J. Spykman when he argues that security cannot come from being just as strong as your opponent, you must be at least a little bit stronger (Anderson, 41, 2013). Emphasizing the size of their nuclear arsenal plays a key role in maintaining control. Compared to a country like North Korea that attempts to keep the size of their nuclear army private, America wants other countries to know just how powerful their arsenal is.

Since the creation of nuclear warheads, they have had many uses within a nation. The construction of nuclear weapons, for the most part, is not intended for actual deployment. Instead, it is used as a means of deterrence, a means of disseminating power and taking control. None of these are viable uses. The United States uses its nuclear arsenal to paint themselves as the most powerful nation to both American citizens and the rest of the world. Their weapons are used as a means of protection from both physical threats and ideological ones. The reality is that the existence of nuclear weapons can only offer one end, the destruction of all humankind. There are no justifiable means for creating nuclear weapons even if the intention is not to deploy them.

Work Cited

Anderson, Perry. “American Foreign Policy and Its Thinkers” Special Issue of New Left Review, 83, 2013.

Cohen, Zachary, and Brian Todd. “What It Takes to Launch a Nuclear Strike.” CNN, 4 Jan. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/01/03/politics/trump-nuclear-football-explainer/index.html.

Grant, Matthew and Benjamin Ziemann. “Introduction: the Cold War as an imaginary war” Understanding the imaginary war: Culture, thought and nuclear conflict, 1945-90. Manchester University Press, 2016.

Reichmann, Kelsey. “Here's How Many Nuclear Warheads Exist, and Which Countries Own Them.” Defense News, 17 June 2019, www.defensenews.com/global/2019/06/16/heres-how-many-nuclear-warheads-exist-and-which-countries-own-them/.