More nukes, less diplomacy

Re “Trump wants to build smaller atomic weapons,” Feb. 3

President Trump’s call for more nuclear weapons, smaller in size but much greater in power than those that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is chilling.

The president is demonstrating his singleminded commitment to a ham-fisted “my bomb is bigger” approach to conflict.

If the aim is to incinerate the planet, Trump is on

the right track. If it is to avoid nuclear war, we should be diligently seeking out diplomatic options, however limited, and pursuing them relentlessly. Instead, the diplomatic corps has shrunk to such an extent that the U.S. does not even have an ambassador to many countries, South Korea included.

Trump should bear in mind that “fire and fury like the world has never seen” cannot be limited to one part of this planet, but would rain down on the people of this country as well as on innocent civilians elsewhere.

Betty Guthrie

Irvine

So far we are the only nation that has used nuclear weapons, and that was more than 70 years ago.

Other nations have had them for some time, but to date they appear to understand that further use could turn the whole world into hell in a hurry. So far, it’s been, “Don’t use yours on us or we will use ours on you.”

Trump appears to be expanding potential reasons to carry out a nuclear strike, including as a response to cyberattacks. In some cases it may not be possible to determine who carried out a cyberattack, but an impetuous leader might blame any enemy that he wants to put down.

I can only hope we will not abandon the wisdom the world has heeded for the past 70 years.

Ken Hense

El Segundo

Why wasn’t this article on the front page of the Feb. 3 paper instead of Page A-10?

I take seriously the problem of the state Capitol’s decades of sexual harassment, but the article on the back page is shockingly scary. It warranted screaming headlines.

Julie Allan

Los Angeles