ABSTRACT
Man's experience throughout the ages demonstrates that war is society's supreme act of violence. It kills people and maims others for life. It destroys property, homes, factories, farms, and livestock. It places extreme stress upon political, social, and economic institutions. It restricts civil liberties and individual rights. It is expensive, for soldiers, weapons, and ammunition cost money. Several years ago in a very influential book analyzing the relationship between weapons and foreign policy, Henry Kissinger made the following observation: In Greek mythology, Nemesis, the goddess of fate, sometimes punished man by fulfilling his wishes too completely. From the beginning of time until 1945, the world did not know our present fear of nuclear weapons. Nuclear explosions emit various forms of radiation. Modern technology can destroy Planet Earth not only through the damage and devastation that it causes during fighting, but also through the use of actual environmental and geophysical weapons.
