Flashback

"Wow, man!":

The Bush administration announced plans last week to beef up the nation's nuclear arsenal, while at the same time retiring older nuclear weapons, many of which have been around for decades. This is like a flashback to the 1970s.

Administration officials say the proposal would consolidate the nation's plutonium supply at a single location, thus making it easier to defend against terrorist attack.

We wonder if it has occurred to President Bush and his advisors that, if the United States got rid of its nuclear arsenal completely, or even greatly reduced it, terrorists would have one less reason to attack this country and its citizens.

Flashback is a good word for it. Is it ever a good idea to trust entirely in the intentions of people sworn to kill you as a means of self-defense?