A global nuclear disorder

A global nuclear disorder The Jakarta Post Gita Wirjawan , Jakarta

June 29, 2009

OpinionThe world is edging precariously toward nuclear anarchy. The warning signs of the collapse of the global nuclear order are clear. The emergence of a dangerous axis of nations with nuclear ambitions – North Korea, Iran and Pakistan – is a very real threat…………………….The brute facts emanating from these three states suggest an irreversible bottom line: trends toward nuclear powers in the world are worsening…………………….. Pyongyang might well attempt to sell nuclear technology to Tehran.

Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is unlikely to cave in to international pressure to stop Tehran from achieving this objective. Surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons – Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west, and the US in the Persian Gulf – it is Iran’s attempt at securing a deterrent that could ultimately be the single most destabilizing factor in the Middle East…………………

In 1963, US President John F. Kennedy predicted that, if left unchecked, 15 to 20 states could join the nuclear club within a decade. His warning saw several initiatives to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, culminating in the 1968 Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

Today, 189 countries, many of which have the technical capability to build nuclear arsenals, have denounced nuclear weapons. Only three additional countries – Israel, India and Pakistan – have acquired such weapons in the last 40 years.

But the NPT architecture is now shaking at the core, and could well open the floodgates for others like North Korea and Iran to enter.

Nuclear weapons pose a clear and present danger……………………..n the end, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan might not even fire a single nuke. But they might well allow these weapons to slip into the hands of al-Qaeda, who would not hesitate pressing the button on New York, London or Tokyo. The global nuclear regime is weakening dramatically. The major powers – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – need to fashion a strategy that will stem further proliferation.

A global nuclear disorder | The Jakarta Post

June 29, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized