評(píng)論
打印
Nuclear doctrine
核戰(zhàn)略思想
Finger on the button
按鈕上的手指
If America ruled out using nuclear weapons first the world would not be any safer
如果美國(guó)首先排除使用核武器的可能性，世界也不會(huì)更安全
In 1973 Major Harold Hering, a veteran pilot and trainee missile-squadron commander, asked his superiors a question: if told to fire his nuclear-tipped rockets, how would he know that the orders were lawful, legitimate and from a sane president? Soon after, Major Hering was pulled from duty and later kicked out of the air force for his “mental and moral reservations”.
1973年，資深飛行員兼導(dǎo)彈中隊(duì)見(jiàn)習(xí)指揮官哈羅德·赫林少校向上級(jí)提出了一個(gè)問(wèn)題：如果讓他發(fā)射裝有核彈頭的火箭，他怎么知道這些命令是合法的、合理的，而且來(lái)自一位理智的總統(tǒng)？不久之后，赫林少校因“精神和道德上的保留意見(jiàn)”而被撤職，后來(lái)被空軍開(kāi)除。
His question hit a nerve because there was, and remains, no check on a president’s authority to launch nuclear weapons. That includes launching them first, before America has been nuked itself. The United States has refused to rule out dropping a nuclear bomb on an enemy that has used only conventional weapons, since it first did so in1945.
他的問(wèn)題觸動(dòng)了人們的神經(jīng)，因?yàn)檫^(guò)去和現(xiàn)在都沒(méi)有對(duì)總統(tǒng)發(fā)射核武器的權(quán)力進(jìn)行檢查。這包括在美國(guó)自己被核攻擊之前先發(fā)射核武器。美國(guó)拒絕排除向只使用常規(guī)武器的敵人投擲核彈的可能性，自從1945年首次這樣做以來(lái)。
Many people think this calculated ambiguity is a bad idea. It is unnecessary, because America is strong enough to repel conventional attacks with conventional arms. And it increases the risk of accidents and misunderstandings. If, when the tide of a conventional war turns, Russia or China fears that America may unexpectedly use nukes, they will put their own arsenals on high alert, to preserve them. If America calculates that its rivals could thus be tempted to strike early, it may feel under pressure to go first—and so on, nudging the world towards the brink.
許多人認(rèn)為這種故意的模棱兩可是一個(gè)壞主意。沒(méi)有必要這么想，因?yàn)槊绹?guó)有足夠的實(shí)力用常規(guī)武器擊退常規(guī)攻擊。這種想法還增加了事故和誤解的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。如果常規(guī)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)爆發(fā)，俄羅斯或中國(guó)擔(dān)心美國(guó)會(huì)出人意料地使用核武器，出于保護(hù)目的將把自己的軍火庫(kù)置于高度戒備狀態(tài)。如果美國(guó)算計(jì)到其競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手可能因此受到提前出擊的誘惑，那么可能會(huì)感到壓力，不得不先下手為強(qiáng)——以此類(lèi)推，將世界推向崩潰的邊緣。
Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic contender for the presidency, is one of many who want to remedy this by committing America, by law, to a policy of No First Use (NFU). India and China have already declared NFU, or something close, despite having smaller, more vulnerable arsenals.
民主黨總統(tǒng)候選人伊麗莎白·沃倫是眾多希望通過(guò)法律規(guī)定美國(guó)實(shí)行“不首先使用”的政策來(lái)彌補(bǔ)這一缺陷的人之一。盡管印度和中國(guó)擁有更小、更脆弱的核武庫(kù)，但兩國(guó)已經(jīng)宣布了“不首先使用”的政策，或類(lèi)似的計(jì)劃。
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