Herman Kahn Quotes

Nuclear arms and atomic power represent a technology in which coexistence with man is extremely difficult.

We have every interest in seeing that the military use of nuclear power will be contained.

I think we ultimately ought to look to put all uranium enrichment and fuel reprocessing, if any is done, under multinational control. Those are the two technologies by which nuclear energy can be translated into nuclear weapons programmes.

No nuclear weapon has detonated. Some nuclear weapons have exploded and spread radioactive plutonium…. The nuclear weapons of today are much safer than those of the 1980s. I worry about the way they are managed however.

I have stated publicly, I want the same things for Iran that I want for Brazil. I want them to use and develop their nuclear energy for peaceful means.

We have to be extremely vigilant and extremely careful when it comes to nuclear. Nuclear changes the whole ball game.

On the nuclear issue, the first point is that the entire world must recognize that Iran does not seek a nuclear weapon, nor shall it seek a nuclear weapon.

I argue that for every country to have an independent fuel cycle is the wrong way to go. Because any country which has a complete fuel cycle is a latent nuclear weapons country, in the sense that it is not far from making a nuclear weapon.

After the Cold War ended, there was an agreement between the former Soviet Union and America to convert weapons-grade nuclear materials into reactor-grade materials. So disarmament and nuclear energy actually are strongly linked.

The safest nuclear power or energy policy is to realize 'zero nuclear power.'

While many technological measures can be taken to secure safety at nuclear power plants, such measures on their own cannot cover great risks.

I wouldn't call myself anti-nuclear.

In terms of weapons, the best disarmament tool so far is nuclear energy. We have been taking down the Russian warheads, turning it into electricity. 10 percent of American electricity comes from decommissioned warheads.

Russia and the U.S. have unique experience in ensuring the safety and security of nuclear material.

With its present organization, staff and attitudes, the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] is unable to fulfill its responsibility for providing an acceptable level of safety for nuclear power plants.

You might ask me why do I have nuclear powered ships. That is a necessary evil. I would sink them all (if they were not absolutely necessary).

The biggest risks posed by nuclear power come not from the technology but from the human institutions that govern how we use it.

… literature is the only consciousness we possess and that its role as consciousness must inform us of our ability to comprehend the hideous danger of nuclear power.

When India conducted nuclear tests in 1974, I wrote a letter to then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from Holland and offered my services for Pakistani nuclear programme.

Our nuclear scientists and engineers have done a splendid job, and naturally, the entire nation has risen to salute their professional excellence, discipline, and patriotism. They have had the benefit of having been led in the past by great men like Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.

Nuclear power can continue to help us reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but we must do everything we can to make it safer.

We absolutely want to harness nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. There should be no doubt about Saudi Arabian intentions. Whatever we do is going to be under strict compliance with international agreements.

Until the last nuclear weapon is eliminated, more must also be done to reduce the risk of a detonation. Nuclear-armed states should reduce the number of warheads on high alert and be clearer about the actions they are taking to prevent accidents.

I say the word N-U-C-L-E-R the same way that George W. Bush says it.

Every country has the right to nuclear technology as long as they use it safely, peacefully and in a secure way.