Toward a Nuclear-Free World

By Alexandra Bell

In late May, North Korea detonated its second nuclear device in three years, in addition to testing four ballistic missiles in the last two months. The tests violated multiple UN resolutions and an affront to the US and the international community. This follows closely on the heels President Obama’s April speech in Prague where he renewed the call for a world free of nuclear weapons. In light of North Korea’s actions, critics claim the President’s policies are naïve, foolish, and even dangerous.

Are Mr. Obama’s detractors correct?

Absolutely not.

First, North Korea can be disarmed. Yes, the reclusive, erratic nation presents a major challenge for the Obama Administration. Their small arsenal and continued illicit sale of nuclear and missile technologies presents a threat to global security. One small nuclear device -- like the crude one North Korea just tested-- could obliterate a midsized city.

Kim Jong Il’s latest provocations evoke a familiar tune, one we have danced to several times over the past two decades. It goes something like this: North Korea tests a nuclear weapon, and its actions are condemned by the international community; Pyongyang protests loudly, but eventually comes back to the negotiating table.

Since our military muscle should only be a last resort, so we will need to rely on diplomacy, which provides the best prospect for lasting peace. Negotiation can be a long, slow process, but this time, there is a big difference. China and Russia, who have had a blind eye turned towards North Korea, are finally becoming weary and have issued harshest-ever condemnations of the recent tests. It has never been in either country’s interest for North Korea to have a nuclear arsenal. With South Korea and Japan growing more anxious by the day, Moscow and Beijing have cause to fear an arms race or a destabilizing conventional war in the region.

If we can secure the persistent and resolute cooperation of China and Russia, while we engage North Korea, then eliminating their weapons program is more of a reality than ever.

Second, President Obama’s goal of a nuclear-free world is the best policy for long-term American security. It was a vision supported by President Reagan, and few would accuse him of being a naïve idealist. The goal of elimination has broad support from national security pragmatists. Veteran American statesman like former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and former Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) have believe that total disarmament is the rational option in a today’s complex world.

Like Reagan before him, President Obama views total elimination as the distant end goal. The US would never unilaterally disarm – that would be irresponsible. Rather, we will retain a reliable deterrent as long as nuclear threats exist. As with all policies, there are initial steps – immediate deep reductions in U.S. and Russian arsenals, the containment of all loose nuclear weapons and material in the next four years, and the long overdue ratification of Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Once achieved, we will move onto to the next steps. Negotiations will be difficult, but no matter the challenges, we should keep our eye on the long-term vision of a world completely free of nuclear weapons.

There are approximately 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world. The US and Russia have about 96% of those. Hundreds remain on hair-trigger alert, ready to be launched on minutes' notice. Given the means and capabilities of these nuclear superpowers, you would assume these weapons are safe. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Russia has admitted to security problems at nuclear material storage facilities, and just two years ago, the US Air Force unknowingly flew six nuclear warheads across the country and left them sitting on a tarmac overnight in Louisiana. Since even an accidental nuclear detonation would result in cataclysmic disaster, eliminating all nuclear weapons and weapons material is the best way to ensure security from state or terrorist nuclear attack.

No one knows what a nuclear-free world looks like, but it will certainly never happen without the leadership of the US. The reality of the situation is simple: the more nuclear weapons there are, the more likely it is that nations or terrorists will use them. Reduction, with the eventual goal of elimination, is the best way to keep America safe.