U.S. should get rid of nukes, stop being hypocritical

In our post-Cold War world, global dynamics are rapidly changing due to many factors. The balance of global power is shifting and the 21st century has witnessed the rise of other powers. The emergence of India and China as formidable economic forces, as well as Russia's re-assertion of its influence has begun to challenge the largely unipolar power structure that has dominated global affairs since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Even though the Cold War is officially over, we still see its affects across the globe. Afghanistan is struggling to climb out of the bondage of decades of occupation, including the Soviet Union's brutal presence there during the '80s. Vietnamese citizens are still suffering the effects of chemical warfare initiated by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, and countless other nations have been affected to this day by the Cold War's historic struggle of two imperial powers.

One of the greatest challenges we face as a global community in the post-Cold War era, however, is the specter of nuclear warfare. It is now understood that, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world came within a hair of destruction. Today, though this threat has been diminished greatly, nuclear proliferation is a major problem. The U.S. and Russia are in possession of thousands of warheads as well as the means to deliver them. France, the UK and China also posses hundreds of nuclear warheads.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), arguably the cornerstone of international law regarding the issue, is something that we Americans should examine to find solutions to the problem.

The NPT, created in 1968, was designed to stop the spread of nuclear weaponry in three main ways:

The first way was to prohibit signatory nations from acquiring or seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. The second calls for disarmament by states who were already in possession of nuclear weapons when the treaty was made, namely the five permanent members of the UN security council (the U.S., UK, France, China and Russia).

The third way refers to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It essentially guarantees the right of member states to utilize nuclear energy for power, research and other peaceful purposes. Today, 189 countries have signed the treaty.

Often we have heard our leaders and diplomats cite the NPT and attest to its importance in regards to the ongoing dispute over the Iranian nuclear program. Iran, while having signed the treaty, still has outstanding issues that must be addressed before the dispute can be resolved.

However, the standards applied to Iran must also apply to states that are allies of the US. Our government has given a pass to India, Israel and Pakistan. Unlike Iran, these three nations have refused to even sign the non-proliferation treaty and have built stockpiles of warheads.

In order for the NPT to be a viable treaty, we must recognize that its tenets should be followed by every nation. The five permanent members of the UN should also honor their commitments to the NPT and begin their disarmament. Admonishing other states to come clean will do no good if we ourselves are hypocrites on the issue.

Instead of dismantling their weapons, both the U.S. and UK have built new generations of advanced warheads and delivery systems. Our government must practice what is preaches and pressure our leaders to honor to the terms of the NPT, by dismantling our weapons and by applying pressure to regimes that we are allies with as well as others. The NPT is a key component to a future in which the nuclear threat could be diminished. It should honored in all its aspects.