Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

Kyle Leech
Teachers Name
History 102
12/10/2013
Abolition of Nuclear Weapons Nuclear weapons possess enormous destructive power. This power is derived from nuclear fission and fusion reactions. These scientific advances were discovered in the 1930s. The Manhattan Project was the research and development project that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. After Germany surrendered in World War II on 29 April, 1945, in March of that same year Americans firebombed Tokyo killing 80,000. British, American and Chinese forces took out Japan’s northern regions. American bombs destroyed Japanese cities ad American submarines cut off Japanese imports. On 11 July of that same year Americans issued a demand for Japan’s unconditional surrender. When Japan ignored the demand, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August. That same month, Japan surrendered and ended the war.

A few different countries, from the 1930s to present, have or have been working to possess nuclear weapons but there is only one reason for this spark in nuclear production and that is protection from threat of being bombed first. According to CNN, 8 countries are known to have nuclear weapons, including: United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea. Added together, these countries are estimated to have over 17,000 nuclear bombs at their disposal right now (CNN.com). Some of these countries are hostile and are sponsors of terrorist organizations. Because of the increased threat of nuclear weapons being obtained by rogue nations, other peaceful nations feel they need to obtain nuclear weapons to protect themselves. This mentality, if allowed to grow, will be the cause of a nuclear war. With the long range and long term effects of a bomb being detonated, there would be practically no escaping the end of the world once a nuclear war is started. There are two types of nuclear bombs: the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb. The atom bomb works by nuclear fission. In this case, particles, specifically nuclei, are split and great amounts of energy are released. This energy is expelled explosively and violently in the atomic bomb. The massive power behind the reaction in an atomic bomb come from the forces that hold the atom together called the strong nuclear form. The element used in atomic bombs is Uranium-235. The Hydrogen bomb works on a different physical principle known as nuclear fusion. In nuclear fusion, the nuclei of atoms join together, or fuse to form a heavier nucleus. This happens only under very hot conditions. The explosion of an atomic bomb attached to a hydrogen bomb provides the heat to start fusion. Hydrogen nuclei fuse to form helium and as this happens, huge amounts of energy are released from the hydrogen nuclei, producing a huge explosion. The unit used to measure radiation dosage is the rem, which stands for roentgen equivalent in man. Doses of radiation of over 100 rems cause the first signs of radiation poisoning: nausea, vomiting, headache, fever, diarrhea and loss of white blood cells (which are the body’s main defense against infection). Doses of over 300 rems cause hair loss and internal damage such as damage to nerves and the digestive tract. There is no cure or effective treatment for radiation poisoning so any dose of it is almost always fatal. Many people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki died not from the explosion but from the radiation. Within seven to ten days of the bomb’s explosion people began to die in great numbers. Dr. Tatsuichiro Akizuki, one of very few doctors who survived, wrote a book on the “puzzling, unknown disease, of symptoms that suddenly appeared in certain patients with no apparent injuries”. They had burns covering their entire bodies. Survivors suffered physically from cataracts, leukemia and other cancers, malformed offspring, and premature aging, and also emotionally, from social discrimination. Also, a few months after the bombs leukemia began to pop up in many of the survivors. Since then, the leukemia numbers have gone down but the incidence of lung cancer, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, and cancers of other organs has increased among the survivors. There are professional issues with nuclear weapons that need to be solved: the possibility of them falling into the wrong hands and this money that is being spent to destroy mankind should be put towards something that can help mankind. The simple fact is that if everyone has nuclear weapons then they are already in the wrong hands. The Nuclear Threat Initiative claims that the U.S. spends an average of $20 billion a year on its nuclear arsenal (nti.org). USNews.com has a list of twelve government programs that are having their spending cut; programs like Medicare, Unemployment and NASA. If our country ceased pursuing nuclear advantages, six of these programs could get knocked off of this list and regain their funding. There is an issue in legality of nuclear weapons. There has never been a written or expressed law for or against nuclear weapons development and use. There is, however, a law that contradicts the objective of building the bombs all together: Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (intentional extinction of a specific creed or color). . One must also take into consideration the unique characteristics of a nuclear weapon, in particular its destructive capacity, its capacity to cause unimaginable human suffrage, and its ability to cause damage to generations to come. These important factors could be considered an arbitrary deprivation of life, which is a violation of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ohcr.org). These confine the nuke holders to using them only in acts of self defense and only as a last resort but, to be honest, if a country decides to nuke another, and its plan is carried out, who is going to be alive to bring it to justice? There are many ethical issues to nuclear weapons that must be considered. Human society has ethical and moral norms based on wisdom, conscience and practicality. Many norms are universal and have withstood the test of human experience over long periods of time. One such principle is that of reciprocity and is commonly known as the Golden Rule: "Treat others as you wish to be treated." It is an ethical and moral foundation for all of the world’s major religions. Nuclear weapons are made by only a handful of states but they keep to themselves the right to own them. Nuclear weapons have the potential to destroy the entire eco system of the planet. Those already in possession of these weapons have the potential of destroying life on the planet. This situation creates a constant incentive for other states to obtain these same weapons. No country wants to be the only one without a nuclear option. So what’s at stake if: nuclear weapons continue to be pursued and manufactured, nuclear weapons manufacturing is shut down, and if a nuclear war is started? First, if nuclear weapons continue to be pursued and manufactured, more countries will be spending unnecessary money. For countries that don’t have the funds for this extensive research many alliances may be made or broken in order to obtain protection against attack. A global rush for the biggest and most terrifying weapons will be sparked. Second, if nuclear weapons manufacturing is shut down enormous amounts of government employees would be out of jobs but, the government would not have to cut its spending for unemployment insurance amongst many other helpful programs for its citizens. Last, if a nuclear war is started trillions of innocent and oblivious people will die for the mistakes of a few. No one and nothing will survive the radiation emitted from the blasts and the ecosystem and life itself on planet Earth will cease. There are a few possible measures that can be taken in order to confirm that nuclear development will not skyrocket out of the world’s control. A ban could be placed on nuclear development in all countries in order to stop this developing disaster in its tracks. Then, something would have to be done about the existing bombs. All countries should surrender all their nuclear weapons and allow the U.N. Security Council to keep them in safe storage until a disposal method can be obtained. Last, a deterrence must be placed preemptively on rogue groups before they decide to create more. All countries should sign a global peace treaty that prohibits the production and use of nuclear weapons. This way, if the treaty is broken, these groups will be subject to legal action on manufacturing a weapon that previously had no legal boundaries or restrictions set on it.

Works Cited
1. “Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What?” http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/03/world/nuclear-weapon-states/. N.p. web. N.d.
2. http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/us-nuclear-weapons-budget-overview/. The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
3. Rick Newman. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2012/09/17/where-government-spending-cuts-will-hurt-the-most. 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
4. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx. 23 Mar. 1976. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.

Cited: 1. “Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What?” http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/03/world/nuclear-weapon-states/. N.p. web. N.d. 2. http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/us-nuclear-weapons-budget-overview/.  The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. 3. Rick Newman. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2012/09/17/where-government-spending-cuts-will-hurt-the-most. 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. 4. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx. 23 Mar. 1976. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.