Iran and North Korea have defied the nuclear non-proliferation policy of the United States and the West and gotten away with it. Weapons of mass destruction are now in the hands of rogue states and will shortly be in the hands of non-state actors, who will most assuredly use them. Nations, kings and potentates have tried to ban or control the use of weapons from the dawn of history, all to no effect. The Pope once banned the crossbow as being too horrific a weapon for use by civilized men, and all the treaties, conferences and memoranda of understanding banning nuclear weapons have worked every bit as well as the Pope’s edict against the crossbow. Might as well ban sticks and stones.
He looked upon the carnage wrought
By the new weapon all had thought
Should never be in use by civ’lized man
Sticks and stones should be enough
But clubs make warfare mighty tough
So he proposed the club face future ban
They argued for a good long while
And as they talked the warfare style
Progressed beyond the club that raised such fears
For now the weapon form of choice
Was one that had its own cruel voice
As men were killing men with swords and spears
Conferences were called again
And hopes were raised that if and when
Agreement could be reached no mat how slow
That spears would be forever banned
And peace would reign upon the land
But by that time some people had the bow
And so it went as time went on
That new replaced the weapons gone
At first the musket then the Gatling gun
The breech-load rifle then the tank
We have the inventors to thank
For giving us this most delicious fun
It must be fun if not then why
Do men then fight and men then die
With and by the weapons that they knew
It hasn’t worked this banning biz
Because there’s always some smart whiz
Who comes up with a weapon fresh with dew
So if you try to ban the nukes
Be sure that somewhere’s a Klaus Fuchs
Who smiles and says those fools don’t have a clue
The man who says we’ll have world peace
If we can make the science cease
Is either fooling him or fooling you