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Ten
Reasons to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
by
David Krieger
June
27, 2003
1.
Fulfill Existing Obligations. The nuclear weapons states have made solemn
promises to the international community to negotiate in good faith to achieve
nuclear disarmament. The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China
accepted this obligation when they signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),
and extended their promises at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference and
again at the 2000 NPT Review Conference. India and Pakistan, which are not
signatories of the NPT, have committed themselves to abolish their nuclear
arsenals if the other nuclear weapons states agree to do so. The only nuclear
weapons state that has not made this promise is Israel, and surely it could be
convinced to do so if the other nuclear weapons states agreed to the elimination
of their nuclear arsenals. The International Court of Justice, the world's
highest court, unanimously highlighted the obligation to nuclear disarmament in
its 1996 Opinion: "There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and
bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its
aspects under strict and effective international control." This means an
obligation to reduce the world's nuclear arsenals to zero.
2.
Stop Nuclear Weapons Proliferation. The failure of nuclear weapons states to
act to eliminate their nuclear arsenals will likely result in the proliferation
of nuclear weapons to other nations. If nuclear weapons states continue to
maintain the position that nuclear weapons preserve their security, it is only
reasonable that other nations with less powerful military forces, such as North
Korea, will decide that their security should also be maintained by nuclear
arsenals. Without substantial progress toward nuclear disarmament, the
Non-Proliferation Treaty will be in jeopardy when the parties to the treaty
meet for the NPT Review Conference in the year 2005.
3.
Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. The very existence of nuclear weapons and their
production endanger our safety because they are susceptible to terrorist
exploitation. Nuclear weapons and production sites all over the world are
vulnerable to terrorist attack or to theft of weapons or weapons-grade
materials. Russia, due to the breakup of the former Soviet Union, has a
weakened command and control system, making their substantial arsenal
especially vulnerable to terrorists. In addition, nuclear weapons are not
helpful in defending against or responding to terrorism because nuclear weapons
cannot target a group that is unlocatable.
4.
Avoid Nuclear Accidents. The risk of accidental war through miscommunication,
miscalculation or malfunction is especially dangerous given the thousands of
nuclear warheads deployed and on high alert status. Given the short time
periods available in which to make decisions about whether or not a state is
under nuclear attack, and whether to launch a retaliatory response, the risk of
miscalculation is high. In addition, the breakup of the former Soviet Union has
weakened Russia's early warning system, since many parts of this system were
located outside of Russia, and this increases the likelihood of a nuclear
accident.
5.
Cease the Immorality of Threatening Mass Murder. It is highly immoral to base
the security of a nation on the threat to destroy cities and potentially murder
millions of people. This immoral policy is named nuclear deterrence, and it is
relied upon by all nuclear weapons states. Nuclear deterrence is a dangerous
policy. Its implementation places humanity and most forms of life in jeopardy
of annihilation.
6.
Reverse the Concentration of Power. Nuclear weapons undermine democracy by
giving a few individuals the power to destroy the world as we know it. No one
should have this much power. If these individuals make a mistake or
misjudgment, everyone in the world will pay for it.
7.
Promote Democratic Openness. Decisions about nuclear weapons have been made
largely in secrecy with little involvement from the public. In the United
States, for example, nuclear weapons policy is set forth in highly classified
documents, which are not made available to the public and come to public
attention only by leaks. On this most important of all issues facing humanity,
there is no informed consent of the people.
8.
Halt the Drain on Resources. Nuclear weapons have drained resources, including
scientific resources, from other more productive uses. A 1998 study by the
Brookings Institution found that the United States alone had spent more than
$5.5 trillion on nuclear weapons programs between 1940 and 1996. The United
States continues to spend some $25-$35 billion annually on research,
development and maintenance of its nuclear arsenal. All of these misspent
resources represent lost opportunities for improving the health, education and
welfare of the people of the world.
9.
Heed Warnings by Distinguished Leaders. Distinguished leaders throughout the
world, including generals, admirals, heads of state and government, scientists
and Nobel Peace Laureates, have warned of the dangers inherent in relying upon
nuclear weapons for security. These warnings have gone unheeded by the leaders
of nuclear weapons states.
10.
Meet Our Responsibility. We each have a responsibility to our children,
grandchildren and future generations to end the threat that nuclear weapons
pose to humanity and all life. This is a responsibility unique in human
history. If we do not accept responsibility to speak out and act for a world
free of nuclear weapons, who will?
David Krieger is the Founder
and President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, NAPF, since 1982. NAPF is a
non-profit, non-partisan international educational organization (http://www.napf.org). He is an advisor to the Transnational Foundation
For Peace and Future Research in Sweden, whose website this article first
appeared in (http://www.transnational.org/)