Disarming the argument
David Maxwell highlights a book on Trident ahead of the vote on 18 July
Tim Wallis says of his book, The Truth About Trident: Disarming the Nuclear Argument, that in one sense the book took three months to write, but in another sense it took thirty years. How so? It draws indirectly on his lifetime in peace work.
Tim Wallis currently works for Quaker Peace & Social Witness. Older Friends may remember the Quaker poster of him holding his first child while looking through the barbed wire of RAF Molesworth cruise missile base. The poster was an invitation to get rid of nuclear weapons for our children’s sake.
Tim studied politics and international relations at the University of Aberdeen. While at Molesworth peace camp Tim used some of Gandhi’s nonviolent methods of resistance. After Molesworth he went to the University of Bradford to secure a PhD in peace studies drawing on his peace camp experience. He has since worked in conflict situations in several countries and trained workers for peace.
The Truth About Trident came out around Yearly Meeting 2016. It was published in association with Quakers in Britain. The review by Bruce Kent in the latest issue of CND’s magazine, Campaign, says: ‘The author has done all of us who are working for a peaceful and nuclear weapons-free world a great service with this book. I have not before come across such a comprehensive and easy to read critique of current weaponry and of the arguments used by the nuclear weapons lobby. Moreover it comes at just the right time with a vote on Trident replacement due.’ Parliament will debate whether to go ahead with spending £41 billion on four Trident submarines on Monday 18 July.
Just suppose the vote proves a close thing? Knowing how good Tim’s book is, local Friends have sent copies to each of twenty-five MPs we believe to be unsure about how they will vote. Of course, it is unlikely the whole book will be read before the vote, but if MPs take their job seriously they could at least browse Tim’s clear answers to topics they are uncertain about.
The book covers the basics, such as ‘what is Trident?’, to more complex issues such as whether the UK needs Trident for security and whether it can be managed legally, safely and responsibly.
Nuclear weapons are obscene. They have ceased to be an effective deterrent because their use would be too indiscriminate and horrific. Most countries in the world want them banned – including countries who considered acquiring them and then changed their minds. Isn’t it time Britain left the nuclear club?
Tim visited Bedford CND with an excellent presentation about his book. His street stall demonstrating his use of Productive Trident Conversations was inspirational. He held the attention of a military veteran for twenty minutes by using the techniques in the leaflet. It was not a tennis match between two opponents – more like a friendly exchange with no smash serves or returns. It reminded me more of Jesus’ Parable of the Sower. His positive responses to what the veteran said affirmed the latter, preparing the soil. The seeds for possible change were the questions dropped into that soil, in the friendliest manner possible. Very Quakerly!
The Truth About Trident Disarming the Nuclear Argument by Timmon Milne Wallis. Luath Press Limited. ISBN: 9781910745427. £12.99.
‘It is quite possible that by the time you are reading this book, the British government will have made the “Main Gate” decision on Trident, committing this country to spending many billions of pounds to maintain its dependence on nuclear weapons well into the second half of this century… the issue of the UK’s possession of nuclear weapons will remain relevant and on the political agenda until the last of these weapons has been dismantled.’
- Tim Wallis in the author’s preface
