On Wednesday, February 17 at 12 noon, Ward Wilson will talk about “Exploring What Nuclear Weapons Do Best, Part II: Wars of Extermination” 

Precis:

Nuclear weapons are large, clumsy weapons that are badly matched to almost any everyday task. They are really ideal in only one role, which is killing people en masse. Having looked in depth at the limited use of this capability - i.e., using a handful of weapons to destroy one or a few cities - and found that it is unlikely to be effective, it makes sense to examine whether using nuclear weapons on a wider scale might be more useful.

Although high emotion is engendered by the threat of annihilation (which has clouded our debates and still clouds our discussions), little work has been done on the practical realities of wars of extermination. What is the history of wars of extermination? Are they common or rare? What is the likelihood of one occurring? And what, generally, are the consequences of wars of extermination? Does the victor benefit? Are their drawbacks? In short, is this a capability that it is valuable to have?

This event is open to the public.

221 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ, 2nd floor conference room. Lunch is provided.

Please RSVP gracec@princeton.edu by noon on Tuesday, February 16, if you are planning to attend so that they can order lunch appropriately.