Book reviewed: Atomic Obsession - Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda by John E. Mueller (Hardcover - November 5, 2009)
The proliferation of nuclear weapons is getting more dangerous than ever since Islamic nations such as Pakistan have acquired nuclear weapons, and Iran is on the verge of making one. The author also provides evidences for the moral and material support for Al Qaeda by Pakistani army and Pakistani physicists to help the Islamic terrorists to acquire these weapons. In spite of these disturbing reports, the author suggests that the fear over the use of such weapons is exaggerated, and our worries are unjustified. He observes that nuclear weapons have never been used since WWII despite the fact that a number of countries have them in their arsenal; hence we need not worry so much! The author's rush to this judgment is incorrect, because until now no Islamic nation possessed a nuclear weapon, but now one country has that, and another has acquired this technology. That means the whole dynamics changes. Since much of academics in universities and colleges are on the left; such a liberal bias is not unexpected.
The book is described in three parts. In the first part, the author argues that inventing nuclear weapons was a terrible waste of human talent, money, effort and a national tragedy, since a possible WWIII could be averted without them. The author argues that nations would have feared disastrous effects of even a conventional war let alone a nuclear war. The author has a short memory; ending of cold war between the two super powers, Libya's voluntary surrendering of nuclear program after Iraq war and the drone attacks on Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists in Pakistani territory have worked because US has nuclear weapons. The use of atomic bomb against Japan prevented further escalations of WWII.
The second part describes nuclear proliferation among nations and asserts that this tragedy was based on the wrong ideology that weapons and the arms race cause war, and not people; and militarily these weapons are useless since they are difficult to obtain, and never been used except for once. This sounds like an argument of a defeatist and an apologist, since he continues his argument by saying that chemical, biological and nuclear weapons (called weapons of mass destruction (WMD)) are a hysterical fear-mongering, because the damage of WMD in an actual war is not so far and wide as claimed. The author must tell this to a chemist or a biologist or even a physician; they will tell him the disastrous effect of radiation on the environment and on all living species. It is catastrophic even to think of such consequences.
The last part is the most interesting part since it discusses how terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and other rogue Islamic nations are trying to acquire these weapons, and how successful they are in producing them. The author provides a wide ranging reports that involves interactions between Pakistani nuclear physicists and Al Qaeda with the blessings of Pakistani military. It is the fear of United States retaliating against Pakistan that has prevented them to assist Al Qaeda and possibly Taliban. The author's analysis is jokingly simplistic and makes a mockery of seriousness of the issue. He claims that Al Qaeda can never be able to produce or acquire nuclear weapons; I hope the author's dream come true.
The book is described in three parts. In the first part, the author argues that inventing nuclear weapons was a terrible waste of human talent, money, effort and a national tragedy, since a possible WWIII could be averted without them. The author argues that nations would have feared disastrous effects of even a conventional war let alone a nuclear war. The author has a short memory; ending of cold war between the two super powers, Libya's voluntary surrendering of nuclear program after Iraq war and the drone attacks on Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists in Pakistani territory have worked because US has nuclear weapons. The use of atomic bomb against Japan prevented further escalations of WWII.
The second part describes nuclear proliferation among nations and asserts that this tragedy was based on the wrong ideology that weapons and the arms race cause war, and not people; and militarily these weapons are useless since they are difficult to obtain, and never been used except for once. This sounds like an argument of a defeatist and an apologist, since he continues his argument by saying that chemical, biological and nuclear weapons (called weapons of mass destruction (WMD)) are a hysterical fear-mongering, because the damage of WMD in an actual war is not so far and wide as claimed. The author must tell this to a chemist or a biologist or even a physician; they will tell him the disastrous effect of radiation on the environment and on all living species. It is catastrophic even to think of such consequences.
The last part is the most interesting part since it discusses how terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and other rogue Islamic nations are trying to acquire these weapons, and how successful they are in producing them. The author provides a wide ranging reports that involves interactions between Pakistani nuclear physicists and Al Qaeda with the blessings of Pakistani military. It is the fear of United States retaliating against Pakistan that has prevented them to assist Al Qaeda and possibly Taliban. The author's analysis is jokingly simplistic and makes a mockery of seriousness of the issue. He claims that Al Qaeda can never be able to produce or acquire nuclear weapons; I hope the author's dream come true.
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