LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. physicist who promoted the controversial concept of the neutron bomb, designed to kill troops but leave battlefields intact, has died, his family says.
Samuel T. Cohen died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, The New York Times reported.
He died from complications of stomach cancer, his son Paul said.
In contrast to strategic warheads, which can kill millions and level cities, neutron bombs use subatomic particles to kill enemy troops with radiation but leave battlefields and cities relatively undamaged.
While critics questioned the usefulness, logic and ethics of killing people and sparing property, Cohen called his bomb a "sane" and "moral" weapon.
I don’t think of myself as very critical, but I have to question the ethics of that myself - that’s a relative statement. But, as Samuel T. Cohen was active on the Manhattan Project, and if you’re in the middle of that, I guess it was a moral conundrum from the get-go…
Los Alamos Canteen – 1939
Einstein: I sink ve’ve done it! Fission!! If vee can harnez it, eet vell be zee ultimate deterrent, as eet vould deeztroy ev-ery-sing in a maszive area for decadez!! Vell my boy, vhat do you sink of zat?
Cohen: Do we have to destroy everything? It seems like such a waste. There must be a more sane and moral answer…
Einstein: No no! You’re miszzng zee point, you simple UCLA frat-boy! It should be a DEE-TERENT!
Cohen: Oh sure. Easy for the genius to start name calling. Who do you think you are? Einste.…. wait for it…... hmmmm….. da Vinci??
Einstein: I zink yoo conteenue to miz zee point, Dr. Cohen. By zee way, are you related to zee musical Cohen? I luv zee show tunes…
Cohen: Now who’s missing the point, Mr. “I’m-so-smart-my-names-a-synonym-for-smart”. That would be George M. “Co-HAN” – And by the by - didn’t you used to be a pacifist? Someday, I’m going to find a way to destroy people, but leave the lovely architecture. Bukoo savings for the occupying country in rebuilding. Wouldn’t you say that’s a more sane and moral approach?
Einstein: Oh Hitler’s Beard!! I’m zoorrounded by morons………. wait, you don’t sink anyone would actually drop one of zees on anyone, do you? ………………………..
Hey, why did they call it the Manhattan Project when it was in Los Alamos, New Mexico? I don’t think they were working on anything in Manhattan called, “The Los Alamos Project”. Come to think of it though, the Koreans have produced cars called Santa Fe and Taos. So I guess it all makes sense in the end.
But personally, I’d have to put the Neutron Bomb on the same moral playing field as the Atomic Bomb. Now if we could come up with a bomb that knocked down buildings but left everyone alive…. That would be a morality step in the right direction.
In fact, it would reduce unemployment – put all those survivors to work on re-construction projects. We could call it, the Pro-life Bomb. Although the Generals might confuse that connotation and think any mission that’s begun with the deployment of the Pro-life bomb is a mission that cannot be aborted.
Maybe I’m missing the point, too. Ah well, Rest In Peace, Dr. Cohen.
