SENTINEL WATCH January 27, 2003 Issue

Restraint can snowball

By Channing Walker

PLUTONIUM, way too much of it, could be coming soon to a black market near you. And to black markets far away, as well. That's a growing concern as the world watches North Korea move toward restarting its nuclear program, including the crucial step on the path leading to bomb production—separating plutonium from spent nuclear fuel rods.

Is this about to trigger a chain reaction, a snowball effect in which nations that have agreed to remain nonnuclear reconsider their stance and conclude it's no longer smart to stay outside the nuclear club? Some experts think so. Mitchell Reiss, dean of international affairs at the College of William and Mary, was recently quoted as saying: "We could be approaching a nuclear tipping point. ... If you see North Korea acquire even a small nuclear arsenal, [previously nonnuclear countries] may begin to wonder whether nonproliferation is a mug's game" (Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2003). Then nuclear arms could spread to many countries like panic sweeping through a crowded and suddenly frightened roomful of people. The end effect is, generally, not good for anyone in the room.

There's a flip side to that scenario though, which is much brighter. What if calm spreads outward and overtakes anxiety and fright? What if someone in that crowded room has even an inkling that Christ—the spirit of understanding and of divine assurance—is present? Sanity and reason gain a handle hold. Fear, s well as the hostility it breeds, loosens its grip. Better solutions move within reach.