80 years after Hiroshima: have we learned our lesson?
The Japanese city of Hiroshima has commemorated the victims of the atomic bombing eighty years ago with the ringing of the Peace Bell and a minute's silence. Tens of thousands of people were killed when the US deployed a nuclear bomb as a war weapon for the first time. Against this backdrop, European commentators debate the dangers and the logic of deterrence.
Nuclear risk greater than ever
The goal of nuclear disarmament must not be forgotten, El País insists:
“The commemoration coincides with a disturbing rhetoric: Moscow is talking openly about its capacity for nuclear destruction in a bid to deter Kyiv's allies. ... Donald Trump has responded by announcing the mobilisation of two nuclear submarines. Europe, led by France and the United Kingdom, wants more nuclear deterrence, while the US and Israeli attack on Iran has convinced the Iranian regime that nuclear weapons are essential for its survival. ... The nuclear threat is not mere rhetoric. Humanity must not relinquish the goal of ridding itself of it.”
Deterrence a huge gamble
Even countries like Belgium that do not have their own atomic weapons still bear partial nuclear responsibility, L'Echo points out:
“From the outset, it supplied the uranium used to manufacture the bombs dropped on Japan, extracted from the Shinkolobwe mine in the Congolese province of Katanga. ... At a time when Europe is turning its back on the 'dividends of peace' and investing heavily in rearmament, the Belgian government is buying F-35 fighter jets rather than competing brands so that it can drop the nuclear weapons stationed in the country. Like all those involved in this nuclear deterrence system inherited from the Cold War, Belgium must never lose sight of the gravity of its role. Nuclear deterrence is a gamble, and in the world of Putins and Trumps, it seems riskier than ever.”
Testimony to human stupidity
La Stampa condemns the reckless use of threats involving nuclear weapons:
“It seems an unbelievable testimony to human stupidity that eighty years after 'What have we done?' the number of countries with confirmed or suspected nuclear arsenals as well as countless aspirants has multiplied. ... Eighty years after Hiroshima, we are disheartened by wars that bring us to the brink of a nuclear disaster. Reckless politicians brandish them menacingly, as if they were jewels that had been kept in a safe for too long. They deploy submarines and missiles to show that the non-weapons have become weapons once more.”
Dangerous steps in the wrong direction
French President Emmanuel Macron's goal of expanding France's nuclear umbrella to cover all Europe is contributing to a deadly race around the globe, warns a group of NGOs in Libération:
“The governments that have adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons have recognised that nuclear deterrence is not the solution, it's the problem. It perpetuates a logic of confrontation, intensifies the arms race (both nuclear and conventional), weakens treaties and legitimises threats as a way of conducting relations between states. The idea of Europeanising French deterrence is a dangerous path to follow. It will provoke reactions from Russia, fuel the ambitions of other nuclear powers and emerging nuclear states, and hasten the demise of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.”
Gap between morality and technology growing
Author Irene Lozano draws parallels with the invention of AI in eldiario.es:
“The atomic bomb has turned us into the first generation that can wipe out all generations. The development of AI - aimed at increasing money and power - goes to the heart of this concern. ... The gap between moral agency and technological power is growing, but eight billion people cannot control the moral consequences of AI. ... We must demand that corporations assume responsibility. ... And democratic governments must set the limits for them. ... Their creations must not go beyond our comprehension, otherwise another atomic bomb will fall on another Hiroshima.”