Nuclear weaponry is such a sensitive issue that requires utmost participation of every country in an aim to debar nuclear cataclysm. When this is the course, it is relevant to consider the current policies that safeguard humanity against catastrophes associated with nuclear weapons.
It should be within the objectives of the federal governments of the many countries that uphold the value of humanity and those who believe in the idea that nuclear weapons more or less delimit rather than enhance our security. Presently most countries or rather most people do not engage in this issue. Many countries especially the third world countries feel that this is not their responsibility and, therefore, they have left it in the hands of the federal governments of the superpowers including the United States. (ElBaradei 2)
A monolithic and elaborate campaign is essential to mobilize countries and populations to rise against the development of nuclear weaponry and nuclear power at large. The campaign should put across all the fears and threats against humanity that the development of nuclear weaponry poses to mankind and to the environment at large.
Such Campaign have been conducted and the most significant one being The Mayors for Peace Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons. This particular campaign sought to mobilize mayors around the world that they stand up and mobilize their populations to rise against nuclear weapons.
The campaign was to call upon and pressure national leaders to stand up and participate in the negotiations which were to start on 2005 aiming to eliminate nuclear weapons. The campaign was initiated by mayors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima towns in Japan. The significance of this campaign cannot be over emphasized but the fact is that until today, the campaign remains poorly funded and the national leaders who are the core of the campaign have given it little or no attention at all.
However, the campaign has been on the run driven by the hope that more mayors and national leader will give a hand in it before the realization of its goals in 2020. (Bunn, Chyba 165). The campaign is as well receiving support from few other initiatives including Abolition 2000 which also aims at eliminating nuclear weapons. (Bunn, Chyba 165)
Turn the Tide is a second campaign in the US which was created by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. (Krieger, Ending the Nuclear Weapons). The main aim of this campaign is to revise the US nuclear policies and it reaches the US citizens via the internet and advocates for citizens to talk with the elected representatives so that they can support the actions of the 13-point Campaign Statement. (Krieger, Ending the Nuclear Weapons 3).
According to the goals of this Campaign statement, it is the collective responsibility of all the countries governments to stop all efforts which are directed towards the creation and development of dangerous nuclear weapons and power systems. It is also inherent that they should as well ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which protects against any adverse effects that such testing involving nuclear material pose to our health and the status of or environment. (Bunn, Chyba 165)
International co-operation has taken a step ahead and tried to analyze the possible solution to this enormous security threat. In this regard, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has accessed possible nuclear security threats which include theft of nuclear weapons by terrorists, creation of nuclear explosive devices by use of stolen nuclear material, other radiological hazards caused by attack or sabotage of a nuclear facility. (ElBaradei 2).
Since 1993, the IAEA has recorded about 630 confirmed cases or nuclear material trafficking. 60 of these cases were recorded in 2003 and it is clear that the trend has ever been on the rise. (Krieger, Ending the Nuclear Weapons 3). It is presumed that one of these fine days, the world will be devastated by a nuclear attack whose effects will be unimaginable unless the necessary is done. (Krieger, Ending the Nuclear Weapons 3)
It is just for the United States to use military force to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by nations that pose a military threat
The fight against the acquisition and development of nuclear weapons is one that cannot be effected by the use of mouth alone. This is a field that requires very sophisticated technological knowhow and also requires enormous funding.
This has therefore forced many of the third world countries to lay the burden on the developed countries who they have continually felt that they have the necessary knowhow and they as well have the required financial resources which are a major necessity in effecting the fight. The United States have fully understood this and they have continually assumed these duties which have to a significant degree managed to stop some countries from manufacturing such nuclear weapon.
The case of North Korea is a modest epitome of the developments that the US federal government has fought against nuclear weaponry. Although there are still some fear that the country posses some nuclear weapons which they want to test, the US has substantially managed to stop any such tests. From this perspective, the US military should therefore, be assigned the front line duties in prevention of nuclear weaponry development. (Bunn, Chyba 165)
The US military force has attained advanced technology regarding nuclear weaponry as compared to other nation’s military forces. Despite the fact that this fight should be a collective responsibility, lack of knowhow of military forces of many of these third world countries minimizes their efforts in as far as prevention of acquisition of nuclear weapons by nations which pose military threat to the world is concerned.
For this reason it is just for the US forces to take up full responsibility to safeguard humanity across the globe against nuclear weapons from any of those nations that pose a threat. This should also include protection against such terrorist groups like al-Qaeda who also pose an international threat. (Krieger, Ending the Nuclear Weapons 3)
Conclusion
There is no magical formula on how these threats can be prevented and it is therefore the responsibility of each and every responsible government to play its part as well as the international agencies which have been given the mandate. These parties should engage in these issues knowing that humanity depends on it.
We should all realize that it is not until that time when another city will be ravaged away by the nuclear weapon when we will realize the harsh reality. It is the high time we awoke from the imagination of the fatality of nuclear weaponry and realize that we are dealing with a real threat to humanity.
We should be far away from giving tacit assent to nuclear weaponry and nuclear systems. We should in the greatest level bring to light the dangers and hidden fears of nuclear weapons and develop ideas to bring to an end the course of history of nuclear systems which is today racing quickly towards that line marked in blocks ‘nuclear catastrophe.’ (Krieger, Ending the Nuclear Weapons 3)
Works Cited
Bunn, Christopher Chyba. US Nuclear Weapons Policy: Confronting Today’s Threats. Washington: Brookings Institution Press, 2006. Print.
ElBaradei Mohamed. Nuclear Proliferation and Potential Threat of Nuclear Terrorism. New York: n.p , n.d. Web.
Krieger David. Ending the Nuclear Weapons. Threat to Humanity: New Thinking and Effective Campaigns are Needed. New York: n.p, n.d. Web.
Krieger David. Seeking Peace in the Nuclear Age. New York: n.p, n.d. Web.
Mueller E. John. Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to al-Qaeda. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.