This August marks the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Those two bombs killed somewhere between 129,000 and 226,000 people immediately, 
and thousands of others from radiation effects later.

After he realized the kind of destruction this 
new type of weapon created, President Harry Truman proposed a nonproliferation treaty in 1945. Since 
then, the United States has been the driving force behind nonnuclear proliferation treaties with 
other countries. Republicans and Democrats in the Oval Office have negotiated treaties with
 adversaries, including Russia, Iran, and China. Without such U.S. leverage there would be a lot
 more countries with nuclear weapons and the capability to use them than there are now.
 Nonproliferation has also saved our country the billions of dollars it takes to make, stockpile, and
 guard such expensive weapons.

Our current administration has backed away from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty,
 the agreement with Iran to prevent it from nuclear arms capability, and shows no interest in 
renewing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires next year. Instead, our president
 scoffs at arms reduction, wants to expand our nuclear arsenal, and if a war comes, let the bombs 
fall where they may.

Something to keep in mind when going to the polls this fall.

Terry Templeman


Pendleton