Defense Secretary Hagel has announced that the Pentagon “is aiming to invest about 10 percent more over the next five years to upgrade the nation’s nuclear deterrent, following reviews that uncovered ‘systemic problems’ in the system.” This will cost U.S. taxpayers “billions” over the next five years, one official said, “but not $20 or $30 billion.” And this is “in addition to tens of billions of dollars that the Obama administration has already designated to upgrade nuclear laboratories and extend the lives of aging warheads.” The thought of eliminating some of these immoral, offensive, indiscriminate weapons never crossed Hagel’s mind, nor the mind of anyone on the Joint Chiefs, nor the mind of anyone on the board of a merchant of death, nor the mind of any Republican warmonger (or do I repeat myself?). Eliminating these weapons of mass destruction would mean a major change in U.S. foreign policy. Don’t look for the Republicans to change anything. More war is what we can look for from them, as Ron Paul said.

The Best of Laurence M. Vance