Nuclear Weapons
A Nuclear weapon is any weapon that gets its destructive power from the transformation
of matter in atoms into energy. They include missiles, bombs, artillery shells, mines
and torpedoes. Another name for nuclear weapons are Atomic bombs or Hydrogen bombs. The
United States was the first country to ever use a Nuclear weapon in battle against
Japan.
The major arguments for a test ban was first proposed in the 1950Os. Today, however,
the stopping of radioactive fallout and the superpower arms race are still in
negotiation. Nations have sought to limit the testing of nuclear weapons to protect
people and the environment from nuclear radiation and to slow the development of nuclear
weapons. In 1963, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States negotiated the
first test limitation treaty, the Limited Test Ban Treaty. The TreatyOs signers agreed
not to test nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space, or underwater. The only
testing that was allowed was underground testing.
Attempts to control the number of nuclear weapons in the world began about 1970. The
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks(SALT) was a convention held by the United States and the
Soviet Union to limit the numbers in nuclear weapons. In 1982, the United States and the
Soviet Union began the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks(START). Unlike the SALT talks,
these were aimed at the number of nuclear weapons each country could obtain. Then there
was another treaty signed in 1987 which was called the Intermediate Range Nuclear
Forces(INF). This treaty called for the dismantling of ground-launched nuclear missiles.
A major obstacle to controlling nuclear weapons has been a lack of trust between the two
principal powers; the United States and the Soviet Union. The relationship has improved
though in the late 1980Os after President Gorbachev introduced the principles of glasnost
and perestroika to the Soviet Political System. In 1989 and 1990, democratic reforms
spread spread across Eastern Europe. These reforms have greatly reduced tensions.
The country of China still wants to test their nuclear explosions for mining and for
some construction. For two years China has successfully held up the 38-nation Geneva
negotiations on a comprehensive test ban treaty. No other nation has been supportive to
the Chinese. They find their reason as a lame excuse to start setting off explosions
again. The treaty plays a very important role in creating a barrier to stop the spread
of nuclear weapons. The two biggest problems are with nuclear weapons nowadays is that
testing isnOt necessary to develop a workable, Hiroshima-type fission bomb in this age of
computers and wide spread access to nuclear data, and India nor Pakistan, the two most
worrisome nuclear powers is likely to sign any deal at all.
The United States, Great Britain, Russia, and France have joined a moratorium on all
testing. Only China continues to develop lightweight, multiple warheads that could be
deployed on submarine based missiles. Claiming discrimination, India insists it will not
accede to a test ban unless the declared nuclear states agree to give up their nuclear
arsenals by a certain date. Pakistan also says if India does not sign, they wonOt
either. One frequently mentioned scenario is for India to conduct a quick series of
tests to develop a thermonuclear weapon and only then give in to international pressure
to sign the treaty.
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty if eventually agreed to, might not be
so comprehensive after all. Meeting in Geneva the 61 nation conference on Disarmament
again failed to produce an agreed treaty before breaking up. Negotiators will return
again to produce another final effort for a test ban treaty in 1996.
After 18 months of talks, the proposed treaty text bans all nuclear tests, no matter the
size or purpose. Still unresolved is whether ratification by the three nuclear powers of
India, Pakistan, and Israel should be required before the treaty enters the force. India
has declared that it will not ratify a test ban without a timetable for disarmament by
the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China. China and Britain are reluctant to
accept restrictions on their programs unless India joins in.
Many people believe the political developments of the late 1980Os and of 1990 marked the
end of the Cold War. Military analysts expect that nuclear military arsenals will be
reduced in size. At the same time, most weapon specialists expect that nuclear weapons
will continue to help prevent political tensions-in Europe or elsewhere. They believe
that the key issue will be to define the role of nuclear weapons in whatever military
forces are considered necessary.
In conclusion, Nuclear Weapons arenOt safe for any country no matter their stability
amongst others. Testing Nuclear weapons destroys the well being of our Earth. So many
treaties have been passed but it still seems that the likes of a Nuclear war is still
stagable. The United States has the most known nuclear tests having a record of 1,030
tests. The closest country next to us is Russia with 715 tests. As you can clearly see
it will take a lot more than treaties to negotiate. LetOs just hope this will all end
before that ozone layer breaks down on us!!!!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Budanski, Stephen. ?Ban the bomb? Not quite.O U.S. News and World Report
17 June 1996: 30
2. Cohen, James. Nuclear arms. Pittsburgh 1979.
3. Mitchell, Alison. ?Clinton and Yeltsin Accentuate the positive at Summit Meeting.O
Newsweek 22 May 1990 A7 Column 1
4. Von Hippel, Frank. ?Bombs Away.O Discover April 1992: 32-35
5. Zimmerman, Tim. ?Nuclear Fiction.O U.S. News and World Report 24 August 1996:
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