UNITED NATIONS: US and NATO nuclear policies are immoral, dangerous and destructive of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, a former US Defense Secretary from the Vietnam War era, Robert McNamara, said on Tuesday.
| Mr. McNamara's successful career lends much weight to his words... |
McNamara, who spoke at a conference taking stock of the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, was defense secretary in the 1960s under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. He was the architect of early US policy in the Vietnam War.
| So obviously he knows what he's talking about... |
"If I were to characterise US and NATO nuclear policies in one sentence, I would say they are immoral, illegal, militarily unnecessary, very, very dangerous in terms of the risk of inadvertent or accidental launch and destructive of the non-proliferation regime that has served us so well," he said.
| And since McNamara's noted for his spot-on analyses, we should take his words to heart... |
McNamara, 88, said the month-long conference should strengthen the treaty and "ensure that North Korea and Iran do not become nuclear powers." But he added, "I believe there is a high probability that the conference will fail to achieve those objectives." |