INTRODUCTION:
In the world today, there are many controversies that affect our every day lives, and these are important to stay informed about to be informed about. In this paper, I will review the history and up rise of nuclear weapons, and how nuclear proliferation has become a fear for the world. I will describe in detail what treaties, NGO & IGOs are involved with the topic, and the nations involved with nuclear proliferation. The more we know about the history and the present, the better decisions we can make for the future to make the world a better place.
OVERVIEW:
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, or related research information to nations not recognized as a “nuclear weapon state” by the NPT. The NPT is the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons with signatories from various nations that hope to diminish the threat of nuclear weapons to the world. These weapons are also known as weapons of mass destruction, because its type of explosive can cause enormous damage to thousands of people from its nuclear fission. Nuclear proliferation causes fear around the world because the spread of these weapons can be life threatening, especially when in the hands of those who do not have regard for human life. The vital atomic bomb discoveries began in the 1930s by Enrico Fermi, Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassman and Lise Meltner. In the late 1940s, The U.S. used this research to explode the world’s first atomic bomb, known as the “The Trinity Test” in New Mexico, which released 19 kilotons of TNT. This bomb was the most powerful weapon ever used before at that time. The U.S. later used a uranium bomb on Hiroshima, Japan and Nagasaki, Japan within three days of each other during the closing of World War II. These bombs killed almost 200,000 people, and they later contributed to Japan’s surrender of the war. No nuclear weapons have been used in a war since this event. However, accidents have occurred that has
References: 1. Jeremy Bernstein, Nukes for Sale, The New York Review of Books, April 14, 2010 2 3. ICAN, Nuclear Weapons Timeline, 2013, http://www.icanw.org/the-facts/the-nuclear-age/#.UXlD33BghTU 4 7. Chaffee, Devon, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation “North Korea’s Withdrawal from Nonproliferation Treaty, 2003 April 10 http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2003/04/10_chaffee_korea-npt.htm 8 13. Schell, Jonathan, The Nation “The Spirit of June 12”, 2007 June 14 http://www.thenation.com/article/spirit-june-12#