Nukes give presidents too much power

In theory, the United States is a democratic republic, and only Congress can declare war. In practice, because of the existence of nuclear weapons, the president of the United States has more life-and-death power than Julius Caesar could ever have imagined. He can launch a nuclear first strike without the approval of Congress or of anyone else.

Richard Nixon once observed, “I can go back into my office and pick up the telephone, and in 25 minutes, 70 million people will be dead.” Technology has advanced since Nixon's day, and the death toll now would presumably be even higher.

It is terribly dangerous to give any human being such absolute and unilateral power. However, the sometimes erratic and unpredictable speech and behavior of our current president makes the issue more urgent.

Congressman Ted Lieu and Sen. Ed Markey have introduced bills to prohibit the president from launching a nuclear strike without consent of Congress unless we are attacked first. I hope that our representative and senators will support these bills.

It may seem unpatriotic to try to restrict the president's military power in any way. However, if one man can decide to end the world because he is in a bad mood, then it isn't clear what any other rights or freedoms really mean.

This story was originally published September 17, 2017 at 11:38 PM with the headline "Nukes give presidents too much power."