This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Many U.S. politicians and Americans are concerned about the recent tests by North Korea of nuclear weapons and delivery missiles. But the U.S. has 4,800 nuclear weapons with 1,000 on full alert. The U.S. has so many nuclear weapons and has used two of them during World War II. President Barack Obama plans to spend $355 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Russia is also doing a similar upgrade. Other nations will want to have a nuclear weapon capability as a deterrent, which will lead to their proliferation and potential use. This would threaten our civilization and could destroy human life on Earth.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has designated Sept. 26 as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. There are great social and economic costs of perpetuating nuclear weapons. The money saved could be spent to improve the lives of all the world's people and protect our environment. Thus the world needs to eliminate all nuclear weapons to create a safer, more peaceful world.
Douglas Stark
Holladay