COUNTERPLAN/NUCLEAR ABOLITION

SOLVENCY: WE WILL NOT NEED NUCLEAR WEAPONS AFTER ABOLITION

NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE NOT NEEDED AGAINST NON-NUCLEAR OPPONENTS

NUCLEAR WEAPONS FAIL TO DETER TERRORISTS OR IRRATIONAL DICTATORS — NUCLEAR ABOLITION WOULD DEAL WITH THEM MORE EFFECTIVELY

Karina Wood, Peace Action Education Fund July 1999. The Road to Nuclear Abolition http://www.webcom.com/peaceact/abolition_fs.html //VT2002acsln

In another sense, nuclear weapons have little deterrence value against an irrational dictator or terrorist group. We would be better able to mobilize world opinion and action against such a regime if we had already demonstrated good faith in nuclear disarmament than if we maintained a nuclear arsenal.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE NOT REALLY WEAPONS, AS THEY HAVE NO MILITARY UTILITY

David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. 11.28.2000 A Victory for All Humanity http://www.peacenet.org/disarm/ //VT2002acsln

Nuclear weapons are not really weapons. They are devices of unimaginable destruction that draw no boundaries between soldiers and civilians, men and women, the old and the young. The stories of the hibakusha attest to this. Nuclear weapons have no true military purpose since their use would cause utter devastation. We know the hell on Earth they created at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Despite this knowledge, some countries continue to rely upon these weapons for what they call national security.

CONVENTIONAL FORCES CAN DETER AND DEFEND AGAINST CONVENTIONAL, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL ATTACKS

Generals Lee Butler & Andrew J. Goodpaster, 4 December 1996. Joint Statement on Reduction of Nuclear Weapons Arsenals: Declining Utility, Continuing Risks http://www.nuclearfiles.org/docs/1996/961204-butlergpaster.html //VT2002acsln

Conventional capabilities can provide a sufficient deterrent and defense against conventional forces and in combination with defense measures, against the threat of chemical or biological weapons. As symbols of prestige and international standing, nuclear weapons are of markedly reduced importance.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE NOT NEEDED NOW, SO THIS IS THE IDEAL TIME TO MOVE TOWARDS ABOLITION

With the end of the Cold War, these weapons are of sharply reduced utility, and there is much now to be gained by substantially reducing their numbers and lowering their alert status, meanwhile exploring the feasibility of their ultimate complete elimination.

THE USA HAS LITTLE TO FEAR FROM OTHER NATIONS AND CAN EMBARK ON A PEACE INITIATIVE

HOWARD BREMBECK, Fourth Freedom Foundation, 2000; IN SEARCH OF THE FOURTH FREEDOM // VT2002 acs p. 4

As the world's only economic and military superpower, the United States has no reason to be afraid of any nation on earth. It can concentrate on seeking a world free of aggression, state-sponsored terrorism and the unspeakable evil of genocide. America's unchallenged world leadership has given it a special responsibility to build a just and effective system of international security. The only questions that need to be answered have to do with our wisdom and our resolve. Are we wise enough to build a world ruled by the force of law, not the law of force?