The Utility of Nuclear Weapons Today: Two Views

Thinking About Catastrophe: The Army in a Nuclear Armed World."Metz argues, "nothing is more important to American security than nuclear weapons.Despite all the fretting over terrorism, hybrid threats, and conventional aggression, only nuclear weapons can threaten the existence of the United States and destroy the global economy." 1 Indeed, despite the end of the Cold War and nuclear hostilities between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the topic of nuclear weapons is vital today.Not a day goes by without reference to nuclear weapons in national and international newspapers.For example, the New York Times, in its February 18, 2016 online edition, reported that Belgium police discovered ten hours of video purportedly showing a Belgian nuclear official at the home of the Paris attacker, Thierry Werts.Belgium officials argued the terrorist organization network "involved in the coordinated attacks on November 13, 2015, that left 130 dead may also have intended to obtain radioactive material for terrorist purposes." 2 Terrorist organizations attempting to acquire nuclear weapons to carry out their nefarious activities, and renegade nation-states also continue to challenge the international system and international law by attempting to acquire nuclear weapons.The most recent example occurred on February 7, 2016, when the "hermit kingdom" of North Korea tested a nuclear bomb and launched a satellite, provoking sharp condemnations from Russia and China as well as South Korea.Despite the fact nuclear weapons could be considered obsolete since an attack by one country could result in massive retaliation by another, the United States maintains a huge nuclear arsenal on high alert and ready for war.The two books considered in this review discuss the utility of nuclear weapons in the post-Cold War era.