Nuclear Weapons are puissant and can kill gargantuan amount of people in very short span of time by the use of massive explosion and radiation. There are few nations in world who are using the nuclear weapon to fortify their country and interest. According to the experts in nuclear energy, the weapons that contain features of nuclear energy are marvelous military weapons to use in war and conflicts. The invading countries will not be able to defeat a country which has capability of nuclear weapon because of its ability to cause vast destruction.
United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, Republic of China, India, Pakistan and North Korea are nuclear competent countries. Although, Israel does not acknowledge it has nuclear weapons it is believed to possess nuclear power. There is vast number of evidence on different occasions which clearly show that Israel holds nuclear weapons. It is estimated to have at least 80 warheads which is equivalent to India and Pakistan's nuclear weapons (Broger, 2014). There are about 23,000 nuclear weapons worldwide out of which approximately 2,500 are considered operationally ready to use. This reserve is ample to consume the entire human population of the planet multifold (McCluskey, 2010).
In the Middle East, there is high tension with regards to nuclear status situation. Egypt, is one of the countries which has threatened to leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty unless there is a palpable progress in forming a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. The western countries promised to hold a conference in 2012, but was cancelled largely because of America's command, to reduce the stress on Israel to join the conference and declare its nuclear arsenal.
On the other hand, the upsurge in China's conventinal defence vigour makes it likely that Eastern Asia will be the area where the most crucial proliferation risks arises. Countries which are in conflict with China, Like Japan will have a tenacious inclination to build a bomb. Unfortunately for the non-proliferation committe many of China's neighbours - including Japan and south Korea already have a booming civilian nulcear programs. This decampment capability will only make it more intriguing for policymakers to order a frenzied race for a bomb (Keck, 2013).
As of 2014, only two nuclear weapons have been used in real time warfare. On both occasions it was United States which used nuclear weapons during World War II to bomb Japan on August, 1945. United States used code name 'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man' to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. These bombings resulted in approximately 20,000 death including military personnel and civilians. On contrary, nuclear weapons have been detonated on two thousand occasions for demonstration and testing purposes.
Nuclear disarmament refers to an act which aims to reduce or eliminate nuclear weapons and make a nuclear free world. There are two groups of people
1) The proponents of Nuclear disarmament
2) The opponents of Nuclear Disarmament.
The proponents of Nuclear disarmament believe that the probability of nuclear war will be eliminated if we establish a nuclear free world and also prevent fissionable reaction by accident (Hoagland, 2011). There were several disarmament assemblage held in various countries from 1980's which include UK, Italy. The largest protests was held on June 12, 1982 in New York City in United States which was participated by a million people (Krauss, 2010).
The opponents of Nuclear disarmament give assurance that nuclear weapons has brought world peace by deterrence and stability- instability paradox (Krepon, 2010). According to Kenneth Waltz, the nuclear weapons have kept an uneasy peace and furthermore the nuclear weapon proliferation has helped in prohibiting convention wars which was ubiquitous before World War II (Waltz, 1981).
According to Foreign Affairs Issue 2012 the view of commentators and policy makers from United States, Europe and Israel convey it is not acceptable for Iran to hold nuclear weapons. But Waltz argues that if Iran has nuclear weapon capability it would restore peace in the Middle-east as Israel would no longer hold monopoly of nuclear weapon in the region.
The critics of nuclear disarmament say that if the nuclear weapons are eliminated completely it will undermine the deterrence. This is a strategy using by countries to stop the other countries planning a nuclear attack to rethink of the consequences.
The invention of nuclear weapons did create a lot of havoc until it was under US oligopoly. Although, we could argue that they did not have sophisticated delivery systems to use them effectively but they still managed to attack Japan using nuclear weapons and caused a tremendous and long lasting damage to the country. Once US demonstrated they had the nuclear capability it created a competitive situation among the other world super powers to gain this status if they have to keep up with the technical capabilities of US and have a chance of winning against them if a conflict arises. Hence, in the later years countries like Russia, France, UK, India, Pakistan and China started to harnessing the power of nuclear weapons through research. United Nations imposed certain measures such as non-proliferation treaty to handle the situation and to stop the countries in the world to develop their nuclear weapons. But some nations did not join this treaty, so that can have deterrence strategy.
We should also consider the circumstances if terrorist organisation can get their hands on already existing nuclear weapon stockpile or even making one. The chances of this occurring is preposterous but this is something to consider as we cannot underestimate the ability of terrorist organisations (Evans, 2011).
I would like to conclude this treatise with apropos quote "It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used. The fact that they exist at all, their presence in our lives, will wreak more havoc than we can begin to fathom. Nuclear weapons pervade our thinking. Control our behaviour. Administer our societies. Inform our dreams. They bury themselves like meat hooks deep in the base of our brains. They are purveyors of madness. They are the ultimate colonizer. Whiter than any white man that ever lived. The very heart of whiteness" (Roy, The Cost of Living).
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