A world sans nukes?

Kamna Arora

“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagvad Gita, ‘Now I am (or have) become Death, the destroyer of worlds’.”

This was the reaction of American physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, who was the scientific director of the Manhattan Project, following the successful detonation of the world’s first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945.

Nearly three weeks later, on August 6, US military planes dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On August 9, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki in Japan. The atom bombs claimed as many as 140,000 lives in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945. In the history of warfare, only Hiroshima and Nagasaki have witnessed attacks with nuclear weapons.

Since its inception, the atomic bomb has terrified the entire world. The number of casualties and other after-effects of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki highlighted the implications of this deadly invention. Mankind was left frightened.

As a result, a popular and political movement was launched towards nuclear disarmament across the world. However, it cannot be ignored that though the US sought nuclear disarmament, yet it considered nuclear weapons as the best guarantee that a fresh war would not take place.

The US, however, started advocating controlling the spread of nuclear technology and weapons, probably fearing the implications of a ‘nuclear’ Soviet Union. The USSR tested its first nuclear device in the August of 1949. The efforts by the US to stop the spread of nuclear weapons proved to be futile with the beginning of the first wave of proliferation in 1952. Its partner in the Manhattan Project, the UK, had developed an atomic bomb. The UK was followed by France in 1960.

In response to the increasing proliferation, a comprehensive international framework was formed for promoting nuclear safety and security. Set up as the world’s "Atoms for Peace" organisation in 1957 under the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is a forum for global cooperation on civilian nuclear research.

Underlining the need for keeping a check on the development as well as transfer of nuclear technology, former US president John F Kennedy insisted in his inaugural address in January 1961, “Let us bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.”

“Weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us," he told the United Nations General Assembly later that year. "No longer is the quest for disarmament a sign of weakness, (nor) the destruction of arms a dream -- it is a practical matter of life or death.”

The statement clearly underlined the threat Kennedy sensed apropos of the need to get rid of nuclear arms before they finish us.

Whether it was the Cuban missile crisis or the Berlin Crisis, president Kennedy never opted for the use of nuclear weapons to resolve problems or issues with any country. Fortunately, he succeeded in ending those crises without ushering in any nuclear exchange, proving that nukes can never be a solution, but just a threat.

In 1968, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) was opened for signature, which recognised five existing nuclear states – the US, the UK, Soviet Union, France and China. Other countries were barred from acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities, but were given the right to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes. And the IAEA was given a key role in ensuring this.

The Treaty entered into force in 1970.

It is important to note that while the formation of the IAEA and the NPT failed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, they did slow down the devastating process.

Only three recognised sovereign states -- India, Israel, Pakistan -- are not signatories to the NPT. North Korea withdrew from NPT in January 2003 after initially signing it.

Broadening proliferation concerns

Earlier, rivalries between two ideologies, or nations, threatened to invoke nuclear response. But today, there are broader proliferation concerns. Countries like Iran and North Korea have used nuclear threats to destabilise the whole region. Notably, nuclear tests by India were followed by Pakistan in the past, hence sparking a nuke race in South Asia. Similarly, the obtainment of nuclear bomb by North Korea can very well invoke its neighbours to acquire one for their security and, of course, for balance of power.

More disturbing is the fact that there exists a possibility that the irresponsible, or clandestine, or lawless countries can assist non-state actors in manufacturing the nuclear weapons.

Adding to the worry is the fact that non-state actors, like al Qaeda, are so keen to access nuclear weapons. According to a report published in June earlier this year, a top leader of al Qaeda claimed that if the group managed to do so, it would use Pakistan's nuclear weapons in its fight against the US.

In February 2004, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, sent shockwaves across the world by confessing to transferring sensitive nuclear technology to Libya, Iran, and North Korea.

Dr Khan's statement exposed the presence of a clandestine network involved in illicit trading of nuclear technology. It was more shocking to see the Pakistani leadership freeing the disgraced scientist, hinting there was more than meets the eye.

Furthermore, poor security at nuclear installations can lead to theft of plutonium or uranium. In fact, the materials required for making a nuclear bomb could be found in hundreds of buildings in several countries. Who is going to ensure the security of these highly sensitive materials?

Another concern emanating from the recent developments is the threat of nuclear terrorism. The devastating technology in the hands of mindless people (read terrorists) is something one will not even want to imagine.

One cannot deny the fact that the 9/11 incident woke the US leadership up to counter the mess in the form of Islamic terrorism, once nurtured by them. And now the threat that terrorists could acquire nuclear weapons is bothering the US, even though it is itself responsible for the invention of atomic bombs.

A global non-proliferation regime is the need of the hour. Things might begin to change now, as US President Barack Obama has shown his commitment to the world without nuclear weapons. In a speech in Prague in April 2009, he stated that the enforcement of fissile-material cut-off treaty, which prohibits all nuclear testing, was a necessary step in fulfilling his dream.

On September 24, 2009, Obama will chair a special United Nations Security Council session on nuclear proliferation with the aim to strengthen the stumbling nuclear non-proliferation regime before the Washington Nuclear Summit next March.

It is imperative for world powers to set an example to encourage other countries to follow their footsteps in giving up nuclear dreams. The UN session will give a chance to Obama to indicate his willingness to lessen the dependence on nuclear arsenal.

I have a "commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons... as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act. We cannot succeed in this endeavour alone, but we can lead it," Obama had said in Prague. For the US, the creator of the nuclear weapons, now is the time to act before the world turns into ashes.