As we all know, the Church categorically rejects the use of nuclear weapons in war. As Cardinal George said in his letter to Obama on the issue: “The horribly destructive capacity of nuclear arms makes them disproportionate and indiscriminate weapons that endanger human life and dignity like no other armaments.” Their use in war is intrinsically evil and can never be justified (and Catholics who defend their use are in the same moral boat as those who defend the virtues of abortion).
William Werpehowski has a very interesting recent article in Commonweal on the issue of nuclear weapons. This is actually a pro-life area where we have seen some convergence between the USCCB and the Obama administration. Both the Church and Obama have called for a world free of nuclear weapons. But what does this mean? Well, START is a clear starting point – without that first step, little else can happen. Of course, the road to zero is a long road, with many obstacles and vested interests along the way. But Werperhowksi also pointed to some other differences between the Obama and Bush administrations I was not aware of:
“This past spring also saw the promulgation of a new Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), stating our government’s intent to advance nonproliferation efforts, fight nuclear terrorism, reduce the number of nuclear weapons, and continue to seek a safe, secure, and effective deterrent without development or testing of new weapons. The review changed national-security policy, announcing that the United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear arms against nonnuclear signatories of the NPT who are in compliance with their treaty obligations. As for states “that possess nuclear weapons and states not in compliance with their nuclear nonproliferation obligations,” the review continued, “there remains a narrow range of contingencies in which U.S. nuclear weapons may still play a role in deterring a conventional or CBW [chemical/biological weapons] attack against the United States or its allies and partners.”
The NPR does not take the route, encouraged by the bishops and argued in The Challenge of Peace, of declaring that the sole purpose of nuclear weapons is to deter against nuclear attack. It holds only that such is their “fundamental” purpose, and that the nation will work to establish conditions under which the more restrictive policy may be safely adopted. Despite this disappointment, Archbishop O’Brien commended the NPR as “morally sound,” albeit requiring “more progress.” Cardinal George’s missive also offered general support for the NPR’s beginning efforts to reduce dependence on nuclear weapons….
The new NPR notably reverses a number of policies of the Bush administration. Bush’s Doctrine of Joint Nuclear Operations countenanced using nuclear weapons in a number of scenarios: to preemptively attack nations or terrorists threatening the use of WMD against the United States or its allies; to destroy WMDs in hardened bunkers; to rapidly end a war on terms favorable to the United States; and “to make sure U.S. and international operations are successful.” Obama follows Kissinger et al. in taking steps to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons, rendering adherence to nonproliferation more credible. And O’Brien’s insistence that nuclear decisions be measured against the goal of eventual abolition is mirrored in a number of Obama initiatives that encourage nonproliferation and an international institution of rules to promote disarmament, remove incentives to acquire nuclear weapons, and hold noncompliant states accountable.”
Obama’s strategy might be weak, but Bush’s was deplorable. This is a key pro-life issue that seems to always get swept under the carpet.
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