Speak Up, Speak Out panel finds ‘rolling the dice’ with nuclear war a lose-lose gamble

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Political science professor Won Paik said more nations will become nuclear powers despite efforts made by the U.S.

Paik, an expert on East Asian and international politics, was a panelist at the Speak Up, Speak Out forum “Nuclear Threats?” where the chances of nuclear war were debated Wednesday night. About 110 people attended the forum in Bovee University Center Auditorium to ask a panel of experts about their thoughts on nuclear power and weaponry.

Paik said Iran will be the next nuclear power in a few years.

“The U.S. has tried a lot of things over the years to prevent untrustworthy nations from becoming nuclear powers and we have failed,” he said.

Paik said it is important to remember that countries with access to nuclear materials do not necessarily have the technology to build missiles.

“There is a huge technological leap from a bomb to a missile,” he said.

Charles Novitski, an associate professor of biology and a panelist, said computer technology has been used to prevent some countries from developing nuclear programs. He said the Stuxnet computer worm was one example, a piece of malware that destroyed Iranian centrifuges in 2010.

“The technology was delayed at least four years,” he said. “I think it was a relief to a lot of countries.”

Novitski said stockpiling nuclear weapons is not an effective defense against nuclear war. He said deterrence is a dangerous strategy because there is still a potential for conflict.

“Mutually assured destruction doesn’t work,” he said. “If you keep rolling the dice, you’re going to lose.”

Paik said the U.S. needs to stop the arms race to prevent countries from stockpiling nuclear weapons and that the New START treaty would reduce the amount of nuclear arms between the United States and Russia.

“We’ve got to get away from a Cold War mentality,” he said.

Novitski said he has studied radioactive materials and how it affects humans. He believes nuclear power is a poor investment because people do not know how to store nuclear waste, which can cause cancer and create genetic mutations.

“It doesn’t generate CO2,” he said, “it just kills us in a different way.”

Other panelists at the forum were Rochester Hills junior Jacquelyn Keenan and Haslett senior Joel Durr. Andrew Blom, assistant professor of philosophy and religion, facilitated the debate.

Bad Axe sophomore Nick Varner said he believes terrorist groups pose the biggest threat of nuclear war because they are difficult to guard against.

“If we start to reduce nuclear arms materials, we need to make sure it stays in good hands,” he said.

Varner said he agreed with a lot of what the panelists had to say and would like to see countries reduce their amount of nuclear weapons.

“I am for nuclear reduction because I like living in a non-radioactive world,” he said.