For nearly three years, the UN's 61-nation Conference on Disarmament,
the only international negotiating forum on nuclear weapons, has been
negotiating a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The treaty, pushed
mainly by the US and Russia, calls for a freeze on testing and new
production of nuclear weapons, and a prohibition of any additional countries
acquiring the weapon.
There are currently 5 nuclear powers, the US, Russia, China, France and
Britain. In addition, countries that deny possessing nuclear weapons but are
widely believed to have weapons and the capability to quickly assemble them
are India, Pakistan, Israel and South Africa.
What is striking about the CTBT is that it does not call for the
destruction of all existing weapons of mass destruction. The US, which
proposed the text, has adamantly refused to include this in the treaty, nor
even set a timetable for resolving this question. Why? The destruction of
all weapons of mass destruction would be a great contribution to the peace
and prosperity of the world. Yet this is precisely what the US stands against.
In August, the latest round of negotiations on the CTBT ended without
reaching consensus--a requirement of the negotiations. India refused to
support the proposed treaty because of its failure to deal with eliminating
nuclear weapons. Many other countries supported this view, calling for the
CTBT to include a timetable for destruction of all existing nuclear weapons.
US negotiators are now considering setting the precedent of by-passing
the Conference and taking the issue directly to the UN General Assembly,
which opens this month.
US Manipulates People's Just Concerns
The issue of eliminating the testing, manufacturing and stockpiling of
weapons of mass destruction--nuclear, chemical and others--is a vital issue
of our times. By pushing the CTBT, the US is trying to present itself as a
power responding to the legitimate concerns of the people. In reality, it is
using this issue to jockey for power, interfere in other countries and
preserve the monopoly of nuclear weapons in a few hands, particularly its own.
The US already has a massive stockpile of nuclear weapons, along with a
very modern and sophisticated delivery system, using missiles, ships,
submarines and bombers. A ban on testing does nothing to curb US nuclear
power. It does serve to give them an edge over powers with less developed
systems. It also gives them the opportunity to harass and attack those
countries who may want to test nuclear weapons or simply want to use nuclear
energy. The hounding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on the
issue of nuclear reactors is a case in point. Continued interference in Iraq
has also been done under the guise of supposedly eliminating nuclear capability.
If the US were serious about the danger of nuclear weapons, it would be
first to call for their complete elimination, would take the lead in
negotiating to insure all such weapons were destroyed, and would itself take
steps to eliminate its own weapons. US imperialism never has and never will
do this. It has, on the other hand, been the first power to drop nuclear
weapons, murdering hundreds of thousands of Japanese and causing untold
damage and long-term devastation. How can the US, the one power that has
used nuclear weapons, proclaim itself the only one morally capable of
possessing nuclear weapons!
It falls to the American people to demand the destruction of all US
weapons of mass destruction, and to join those worldwide in demanding the
elimination of all such weapons. No one should be fooled into thinking that
nuclear weapons are a source of peace and security--bombs are not makers of
peace, they are makers of war and mass destruction. Having nuclear war as a
threat serves only to make the possibility of nuclear war a reality. The US
has clearly shown it is prepared to use military might, including nuclear
weapons, to get its way. The recent Iraqi bombing is an obvious
demonstration of its readiness to make good its threats. A nuclear war can
not serve the interests of the people--Americans or any others. It is the
complete elimination of all weapons of mass destruction that contributes to
world peace and security and this is the fight Americans must wage.
People, Not Weapons, Are Decisive
As a major military power, the US has long pushed the view that it is
weapons that are decisive in deciding world affairs. History and theory
makes clear that it is the people themselves and not weapons of mass
destruction that are decisive. The people's war waged by the Soviet people
to defeat the German nazi invasion is a clear example. The war waged by the
Vietnamese people to defeat US imperialism is another. It is the people,
organized and fighting to defend their interests and to win revolution that
are decisive in defeating imperialist attacks and securing peace. This is
the lesson which must be firmly grasped.
The danger of a third imperialist world war, a war which will be far
more destructive than the last two, threatens the world's people. No
treaties or agreements with or among the imperialists will guarantee peace
and security. Just as it is the elimination of nuclear weapons that will
contribute to world peace, it is the elimination of imperialism that will
prevent world war.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
