Nuclear threat: ‘We must remove our blinders’

Re: “10 years until Armageddon: The nuclear threat grows” [Oct. 29, Opinion]:

My deep gratitude to Gen. Barry McCaffrey for his informative and dire warning in regard to nuclear weapons. I lack his expertise, but we share the same desire to eradicate global manufacturing of new nuclear weapons.

I grew up in Richland, Washington, in the ’50s and ’60s, an unwitting member of the Hanford downwinder community. We still don’t know how to deal with the nuclear waste and environmental mess our government created during the Manhattan Project. McCaffrey estimates a possible 10-year window before an accidental or intentional launch could occur. If arms science and technology is now available on the internet, this threat becomes even more pressing. His proposed steps of “No First Use” and eliminating the president’s “sole use” authority to employ nuclear weapons are vital and pressing.

I am an ordinary citizen who is aware of the wanton destruction of our environment and populations these horrific weapons of war produce in their wake. When and if missiles start flying, we won’t be around to discuss any virus. We may be weary of doom scrolling, but we must remove our blinders and face these facts with community action and professional negotiators before we perish through our own ignorance.

Rebecca Romanelli, Seattle