KUALA LUMPUR -- On Aug. 6, peace activists from around the world flocked to Hiroshima to pray for peace and remember those who died when the first nuclear bomb was dropped on that city 58 years ago. More subdued ceremonies marked the anniversary of the second, and we all hope last, use of nuclear weapons in anger three days later in Nagasaki.
Sandwiched in between these two dates was a "secret" conference in Omaha, Nebraska, where senior U.S. Defense Department officials reportedly met with nuclear weapons specialists to discuss ways of upgrading America's aging nuclear arsenal. While one can argue that there is never a good time to discuss the use of nuclear weapons, the Pentagon's timing of this event underscores and reinforces the impression around the world of U.S. callousness toward the views and feelings of others.
These views have been very much in evidence at this year's annual Asia Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur. Speaker after speaker, including many who have traditionally been supportive of Washington and still favor a continued U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, condemned U.S. "unilateralism" and "arrogance."