Get rid of nukes — all of them

Re “Missiles in holes in the ground are no way to deter nuclear war now,” Opinion, April 19

If nuclear deterrence depends on our enemies being rational, do we really need to threaten retaliation to deter nuclear attack? Isn’t it enough the vanquished would become a radioactive wasteland, and the entire planet would suffer a climate catastrophe?

But even if retaliation is required to deter, are our enemies more deterred by our 2,250 nuclear weapons than they would be from 225, or even just 22? Heck, having just one weapon might suffice.

Reducing our nuclear capability to a small number is the easy part. The real challenge will come when humankind is ready to go from one nuclear weapon on each side to zero. That’s when courage and faith will be required.

Our current challenge to give up a few hundred fixedlocation, nuclear-armed missiles is nothing. Future generations will scoff at us for regarding this as difficult.

Jeff Vaughn Encino