I would consider all options before C++. it is very inproductive compared to most newer alternatives and the lack of garbage collection can cause tons of nasty bugs.
speed is not always an issue. in fact, it is quite rarely an issue. you need it in really tight loops; the sqrt is a perfect example. yet, most likely you don't need to make an unsafe cast on every line in your program.
I recommend a statically typed compiled language with GC. there are plenty, and they are usually reasonable or as fast as C++. if you need even more speed at some critical spots then you can still mix with assembly (or the portable version, C)
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