You can’t uninvent the atom bomb, Mr Tanner WHEN John Tanner calls for the removal of atomic weapons (Oxford Mail, August 18) does he mean from the world or from the UK?

If he means from the world I think that he’s being more than a little naive. The trouble is that you can’t uninvent nuclear weapons.

It is unlikely that those peaceful nations who have the bomb, and that includes the UK, will, unilaterally, agree to their disposal.

And it’s pretty certain that warlike regimes will come into existence who could obtain the know-how to produce the weapon.

Today's Letters

The morality of using the bomb is constantly debated but there is nothing moral about war. The bombing of Dresden, using conventional bombs, killed an estimated 25,000. In the Far East, President Truman’s objective had to be to get the war over as quickly as possible to prevent further loss of American servicemen’s lives.

Truman did ask the Japanese for unconditional surrender or suffer a terror from the air. The ultimatum was rejected. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were then chosen as they were near to a military target but far enough away rom Japan’s ancient cities.

Had the war continued, and the allies had to invade Japan, there would have been considerable damage to the country and its cities and a great loss of civilian life, probably more than resulted from the atomic bombs.

DERRICK HOLT

Fortnam Close,

Headington,

Oxford