Antinuclear

Nuclear caste system, and nuclear doubletalk

Washington maintains a double standard that allows its friends to make key nuclear weapons but prevents its rivals from doing so…….

. “What is important is to preserve the right of non-nuclear states to the peaceful uses of nuclear weapons,– said Egypt’s Abdelaziz.

The nuclear caste system , Foreign Policy, by Colum Lynch , 30 April 2010. Next week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet in New York with diplomats from more than 180 countries at the eighth review conference of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (pdf), the Cold War pact that determines who can have nuclear weapons and who can’t.

The nuclear accord obliges the five original nuclear powers to disarm while exacting a pledge from other countries not to pursue nuclear weapons. In exchange, those that foreswore atomic weapons were assured the right to develop nuclear energy programs, under the monitoring of U.N. inspectors……

U.S. President Barack Obama is facing a major challenge to his nuclear vision from countries in the developing world that feel the nuclear treaty has been applied unfairly. Many states harbor a festering resentment against the major nuclear powers, saying they have used the NPT to establish an entrenched class system that guarantees their own nuclear defense, and that of allies like India, Israel, and Pakistan, but exposes the vast majority of U.N. members to the threat of nuclear annihilation.

They are loath to accept new demands imposed by the big powers that would curb their own rights to develop nuclear power, or to participate in a burgeoning nuclear trade.

THE A(tomic) TEAM:

The original nuclear club — Britain, China, France, China, and the United States — consists of the only nations that have the right to possess nuclear weapons, but they are required, under the terms of the NPT, to disarm…….
The United States, China, and Russia, meanwhile, continue to modernize their nuclear warheads. The new U.S. Nuclear Posture Review would require funds to extend the life of America’s nuclear stockpile. China, meanwhile, is seeking to increase the number of warheads in its own nuclear arsenal, which is currently far inferior to those of Russia and the United States. And France — which owes its residual great power status to its nuclear weapons and a permanent seat on the Security Council – has been reluctant to embrace a commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons. French President Nicolas Sarkozy told CBS news earlier this month that he could “not give up nuclear weapons” because “I cannot jeopardize the security and safety of my country.”…
THE OUTLIERS:

The development of nuclear weapons programs by key U.S. allies India, Israel, and Pakistan has led to charges that Washington maintains a double standard that allows its friends to make key nuclear weapons but prevents its rivals from doing so. The United States, with the backing of other nuclear powers, has permitted nuclear trade with India despite an NPT requirement that nuclear materials only be supplied to countries that allow IAEA scrutiny of their programs. Pakistan, meanwhile, has blocked negotiations in Geneva on a treaty that would prohibit countries from producing fuel for a nuclear weapon……

THE HAVE NOTS:

The NPT treaty provides non-nuclear states with the right to produce nuclear energy, but the original U.N. procedures for monitoring nuclear reactors were woefully inadequate for detecting the diversion of nuclear fuel to a clandestine weapons program. ………………..

Egypt, which leads the 118 member non-aligned movement, is likely to champion the nuclear have-nots at the NPT conference. Egypt has insisted that non-nuclear states have an inalienable right to produce their own nuclear energy. “What is important is to preserve the right of non-nuclear states to the peaceful uses of nuclear weapons, and not to allow a fuel bank or any other kind of supply arrangement that is going to decide on behalf of the countries concerned what are there developmental needs,” said Egypt’s Abdelaziz.

The nuclear caste system | Turtle Bay

May 1, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons