And, if a war were to be begun, the question of who was to blame would be totally uninteresting afterwards. We have to believe all politicians who declare that this is precisely what we must avoid. Because it is the truth. The riddle is, of course, to explain why the arms race continues. The explanation is simple.
Nobody dares to take the risk of relying on the other side.
Without this bilateral fear, it would be difficult to find any rational argument for the build-up of armaments. The extent to which this lack of confidence is promoted as a political doctrine is an indicator of the dangerous nature of today's world as a place in which to live one's life. Another aspect of the same picture is the fact that, from time to time, things are both said and done which can easily be interpreted as confirmation of the doubts the various parties have of one another. As a general rule, we have a tendency to believe the enemy when he says something which confirms our suspicions. If he, on the other hand, says something which indicates that he is interested in peace and friendship, it is argued that we would be stupid to believe him, as his intention is to give us a false sense of security in order to be able to destroy us all the more easily.