The US nuclear arms industry, which President-elect Donald Trump is seeking to greatly expand, is dependent on the “very worst and craziest” neoconservative strategists who advocate building more weapons of mass destruction, an American scholar says.
Unlike Iran, which has forbidden the use of weapons of mass destruction from a religious stance, the US lacks religious elements that would prevent the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons, said Kevin Barrett, an author and political commentator in Madison, Wisconsin.
“Unfortunately, here in the United States, we don’t have that Godly element in our government,” Barrett told Press TV on Tuesday.
“So essentially, we’re run purely by psychopaths without any of that kind of wisdom that would say we’ve got to stop building these things before they get used,” he added.
“The nuclear industry is also dependent on the very worst and craziest strategists to keep itself in business building these horrific weapons…and unfortunately Donald Trump is currently surrounded by these neoconservatives and organized crime,” the scholar argued.
The New York Times reported on Monday that 37 top US scientists, including some of the world’s leading experts in the fields of nuclear science and arms control, have written to Trump, calling on him to abide by the nuclear agreement with Iran when he takes office on January 20.
“We urge you to preserve this critical US strategic asset,” reads the letter.
The signatories included Nobel laureates, original designers of nuclear weapons, former White House science advisers, and the chief executive of the world’s largest general society of scientists.
The three-page letter was organized by Richard L. Garwin, a physicist who helped design the world’s fist hydrogen bomb and has long advised US governments on arms control.
Iran and the P5+1 group – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – reached a nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in July 2015.
During his campaign prior to the November 8 presidential election, Trump promised to annul the deal. He called the pact a "disaster" and "the worst deal ever negotiated." He also said that the agreement could lead to a "nuclear holocaust."
Iran has all along highlighted the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, saying it has never had any intention to use it for military purposes. Also, Iran says it is forbidden to use weapons of mass destruction from a religious standpoint.
