According to Fareed Zakaria’s Feb. 7 op-ed, “The quiet collapse of nuclear stability,” Russia has built a nuclear arsenal containing, among other things, 1,500 tactical nuclear weapons. Tactical nuclear weapons are generally smaller than strategic nuclear weapons and are designed for use on battlefields rather than to annihilate a nation’s interior.
If Europe wants to deter Russian aggression, it will need to develop at least a modest number of its own tactical nuclear weapons. Although Britain and France have small arsenals of strategic nuclear weapons, neither country, and no other European country, has developed any tactical nuclear weapons.
Russia’s threat to use tactical nuclear weapons cannot be deterred by a threat to respond with strategic nuclear weapons. If under any circumstances, a strategic nuclear weapon were to be fired at Russia, the result could be an exchange of strategic nuclear weapons sufficient to end most life on our planet. The Russian threat can only be deterred with matching weapons.
Richard Joffe, New York
There hasn’t been “nuclear stability” since 1945. There has been luck amid the instability of accidents and close calls.
Now, the greatest terror should be biological weapons, which, unlike nuclear weapons, self-replicate. With artificial intelligence, the evolution of weaponry will continue while the devolution of governance, at both national and global levels, continues apace. The very concept of security is an illusion.
Chuck Woolery, Rockville
The Feb. 15 editorial “America’s nuclear future” singled out, as an example of “the many undue burdens that federal agencies have placed on projects,” the 2009 requirement to increase the strength of containment structures so they can “withstand direct aircraft strikes.”
Apparently, the Editorial Board forgot the day that large jet airplanes were used as weapons against America. As chief of reactor security for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on 9/11, I emphatically do not forget. Our nuclear facilities were considered prime targets during and after the events of 9/11. Robust containment structures were a major part of easing that concern. In addition, I would offer the Chernobyl accident as an example where the lack of a robust containment structure resulted in the contamination of many square miles and the displacement of many residents.
Alan Madison, Vero Beach, Florida
The Editorial Board’s discussion of the pros and cons of using nuclear power was incomplete. In addition to cost, there are major reasons people are concerned about nuclear power: fear of an accident or meltdown of a nuclear reactor, disposal of radioactive waste products, and the danger of nuclear weapons proliferation.
Particularly underappreciated is the development of weapons using the radioactive materials produced during a reactor’s operation, some of which have long half-lives. If chemically separated, plutonium can be aggregated into a mass large enough for use in a nuclear weapon. The nuclear power industry is also reluctant to discuss the danger, especially abroad, that radioactive wastes can be aggregated and spread over an area by a chemical explosion (a dirty bomb) — a process that does not require advanced technological capabilities.
Allan R. Hoffman, Reston
A personal stamp
The Feb. 9 Style article “‘It’s sweet, it’s straightforward’ — and it’s final” gave true meaning to “old-school.” It makes sense that Don Glickman, the man who instructed his daughter to mail more than 100 postcards upon his death, was a design professor. He went out in style and used the classic simplicity of a postcard. As the article reported, “In clean Helvetica type, [the postcard] read: ‘If you’re reading this I’m dead, and I really liked you.’ Next to the message was a selfie of Don Glickman wearing a serious expression, a hoodie and yellow aviator sunglasses. There’s a hand-sketched portrait of him in the corner.”
I consider many of the emails I send to 400 of my closest friends (a rotating group, to be sure) virtual postcards. A one-sentence pronouncement touches people. When I’m able, I print color cards, which I mail in envelopes, or photos, which I send as postcards. Snail mail from people you know is a thing of the past, so there’s an element of surprise. The professor’s students were thrilled, as were the millions of viewers when his mailing went viral. It all began with a simple postcard and profound words that are now immortal.
Steven A. Ludsin, East Hampton, New York
What sparks joy
In the Feb. 7 letters package “Notes of note,” readers shared their love of collecting ephemera, such as postcards and fruit stickers. I started collecting rubber ducks around 2017 and now have about 300. Many represent places I have visited, while others are whimsical characters that are just fun to look at. My collection has been displayed several times at my local library. Rubber ducks are cheap, they take up little space, and they are great conversation starters.
Raymond Hofman, Palos Heights, Illinois
I collect refrigerator magnets from all over the world and from the states I’ve visited. Every time I open the fridge, I open memories of my travels.
Deanie McCluan, Annapolis
I’ve been a pack rat since childhood, but the book “Collected: Living With the Things You Love” by Fritz Karch and Rebecca Robertson showed me that I am not alone.
When I taught high school English, I required my students to write letters of appreciation and memories to their grandparents for National Grandparents’ Day each September and to make two copies, one for their grandparents and one for me. Now that I live among many grandparents in an “old folks’ home,” I post those old letters each September, and they bring tears to residents’ eyes.
Another lifelong collection are “Momalies,” sayings from people’s mothers that have stayed with them into adulthood. My own mother used to threaten, “You better be good or what will the neighbors think?” It kept me on the straight and narrow for years.
Kathy A. Megyeri, Washington
Post Opinions wants to know: What things did your mother say that have stayed with you into adulthood? Share your response, and it might be published as a letter to the editor. wapo.st/mother_knows_best
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