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U.S. must take action to prevent nuclear holocaust | READER COMMENTARY

For The Baltimore Sun
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, holds a binoculars as Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu sits near watching the joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Zapad-2021 at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. With his room for maneuver narrowing quickly amid Russian military defeats in Ukraine, Putin has recently signaled that he could resort to nuclear weapons to protect the Russian gains in Ukraine - the harrowing rhetoric that shattered a mantra of stability he has repeated throughout his 22-year rule. (Sergei Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, holds a binoculars as Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu sits near watching the joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Zapad-2021 at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. With his room for maneuver narrowing quickly amid Russian military defeats in Ukraine, Putin has recently signaled that he could resort to nuclear weapons to protect the Russian gains in Ukraine - the harrowing rhetoric that shattered a mantra of stability he has repeated throughout his 22-year rule. (Sergei Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File) (Sergei Savostyanov/AP)

In a time of war as the people of Ukraine are under savage attack, we must recognize that the use of a nuclear weapon is possible. Russia possesses the largest nuclear arsenal and the dictatorial Vladimir Putin has threatened to use one. I believe he is bluffing. Nevertheless, we must understand the consequences should a weapon of mass destruction be used.

Thank you to Faye Flam for her detailed commentary, “Even a small nuclear weapon would mean massive famine” (Nov. 25). As a member of Prevent Nuclear War Maryland, I was delighted when the Baltimore City Council passed a “Back from the Brink” resolution in 2018. The resolution outlines five policy solutions leading to nuclear disarmament.

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I also appreciated that the author recognized Daniel Ellsberg and his 2017 book, “The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.” Moreover, she affirms that all countries must take the “No First Use” pledge and that the United States should eliminate its land-based nuclear weapons which are on hair-trigger alert.

I suggest two more proposals to prevent a nuclear holocaust: We must not allow a president (think Donald Trump) to have sole authority to launch a nuclear weapon and the Biden administration should immediately remove U.S. nuclear weapons installed in five European countries. This removal could lead to negotiations for nuclear reduction treaties.

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— Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Towson

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