The politicians and the military leaders had their own ideas about the bomb; moral scruples hardly figured in them. More important was to demonstrate to the world – and particularly to the Soviet Union – the newly acquired might of the United States.

If the militarily most powerful – and least threatened – states need nuclear weapons for their security, how can one deny such security to countries that are truly insecure? The present nuclear policy is a recipe for proliferation. It is a policy for disaster.