Oct./Nov. 1982 RAIN Page 9 National opposition to Trident has been more « subdued than opposition to MX. Taking Offense At Trident Opposition to Trident has been strong and well-organized in the Northwest as evidenced by a well-attended peace rally a few days prior to the Ohio's arrival. The rally, sponsored by the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action (see RAIN VIII: 7,14) and the Seattle Religious Peace Action Coalition (SERPAC), attracted about 6,000 area residents and exhibited the diversity of those opposed to the new weapon. Among the ralliers were Christians, atheists, preschoolers, retirees, socialists, communists. Republicans, educators, physicians, veterans, and loggers, — participation that cut across the political and social spectrum of society. Also in attendance at the rally were a dozen or more Japanese Buddhists who have been working closely with the Ground Zero Center while attempting to construct a peace pagoda adjacent to the submarine base. But while Trident may be a destabilizing weapon of nearly the same proportions as the MX system, national opposition to Trident has been more subdued than opposition to MX. The reason, suggests Charles Meconis of SERPAC, is that Trident is less conspicuous, and its deployment will have a direct negative effect on fewer Americans. Though the blockade attempt at which he was arrested did not succeed in stopping the Ohio, Meconis sees some benefits nonetheless. "We publicized this thing beyond my wildest expectations. The damn thing would have shipped in at seven a.m. with the Navy band playing and wouldn't have been noticed by anyone. [The blockade] focused opposition to nuclear arms on Trident. It was supported by most of the anti-nuclear spectrum because of its symbolic, nonviolent nature. It helped to unify the movement," he said. The deployment of the first Trident submarine, the peace demonstrations and the acts of civil disobedience that have accompanied it, contrasts the disparate American approaches to the attainment and maintenance of peace. At opposite ends of the spectrum of beliefs are militarists and the pacifists, whose views are strongly held and not readily compromised. Communication across the gulf of misunderstanding and suspicion that separates them is often through conflict that probably serves only to strengthen the resolve of both and makes compromise more unlikely. The military's approach to peace is familiar because we hear it frequently reiterated by defense officials. It is an indirect approach that, at least in the past, has revolved around the idea of deterrence. If we maintain the ability to annihilate any enemy, even after they have done their worst to us, they will be deterred from warring against us because they will fear retaliation. In this way, more weapons make us safer. The Trident system is a deterrent to war, says the Navy, because it will be well concealed deep in the ocean, will survive a nuclear attack on the United States, and will be able to severely punish the attacker. But those who oppose Trident point out that with the super accuracy of its missiles, it is more than is needed for Jim Springer
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz