Former Washington correspondent Godfrey Hodgson’s appreciation of the life’s contribution of Senator John McCain (Obituaries, 27 August) rightly concentrated on his strong political concerns over national security and defence, in the context of his experience as a PoW in Vietnam.
But there is one intriguing and politically brave position taken by McCain overlooked in his obits: his support for nuclear disarmament, a highly unusual stance in US politics, especially for a Republican presidential candidate.
Speaking during the 2008 US presidential election campaign to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, McCain surprised many listeners when he said “the United States should lead a global effort at nuclear disarmament”.
Although McCain lost that election to Barack Obama, the latter subsequently won the Nobel peace prize (somewhat prematurely) for his major speech in Prague a year later pledging to move towards nuclear disarmament, a posture also surprisingly endorsed by Donald Trump in his pre-presidential writings (with thanks to Joseph Cirincione, the president of Ploughshares Fund and the author of Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2008).
Dr David Lowry
Senior international research fellow, Institute for Resource and Security Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• I was very sorry to read of the organic farmer Peter Melchett’s death (Obituary, 4 September). He has been an inspiration in his concern for the environment through Greenpeace, the Soil Association and allied organisations. Perhaps less well known was his support when East Anglia became a prime nuclear target following the arrival of first-strike US bombers at RAF Sculthorpe. Volunteers took part in a perimeter wire-cutting protest over a period. For most it was their first experience of lawbreaking but the court appearance was made a little easier by the presence of this quiet, unassuming peer among us. It was not difficult to imagine the criticism he received elsewhere. It is to be hoped that one day before too long reckless world leaders like Putin and Trump will have to give way to the Peter Melchetts of this world.
John Marston
King’s Lynn, Norfolk
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