Pros and Con of the Nuclear Weapons - Coursework Example

Introduction From the time immemorial, wars amongst nations are considered to be a defense strategy to uphold the honor of the country and secure and maintain the rights of its people. What most people and the governments of the nations forget is that, wars have much more serious repercussions with long lasting consequences that leave behind a trail of deaths, sufferings, untold miseries and nations in turmoil. In the guise of war, killing others becomes easier and morally right! But the history has shown emphatically that wars have never won hearts, it has only compounded the miseries of the people, curtailing their freedom and causing death of the innocents. In the era of advancing technologies and globalization, peaceful co-existence has become more important than the ravages of war. Some people think that the invention of nuclear warfare has effectively promoted world peace. We would be looking at the pros and con of the nuclear weapons, in furthering the cause of peace in the world. Historical Significance Nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been one of the worst and the most devastating war actions of the time till date. Whatever the excruciating circumstances and the palpable causes which led to the atomic bombing of the two cities of Japan, these attacks perpetrated by United States, on 6th August and 9th August would remain the blackest days, in the lives of the civilized world. During the WWII, the decision to bomb the two cities had mainly two objectives. The foremost being, to establish the superiority of the American forces and the second was to experiment the atomic bomb which was recently developed by the American scientists. ‘..for Americans, the dominant story is that the bombs provided an appropriate and necessary conclusion to a just war; for Japanese, it is a symbol of their victimization’ (Hein & Selden, 97). Hiroshima was the headquarters of the Japanese army and one of the most advanced cities of Japan. The detonation of ‘Little Man’ (name of the nuclear bomb that was dropped) on Hiroshima on 6th August 1945, became a reality and created unprecedented holocaust, ever recorded in the history of mankind. It killed more than 90,0001 people, maimed and injured grievously more than 30,0002 and genetically damaged the surviving population. The second attack on the city of Nagasaki, became significant because it was an important off shore trading centre and an important port of Japan. Though, much of the population was shifted from the mainland, ‘Fat Man’, the atomic bomb that was dropped on 9th August 1945, was equally devastating in its effect. About 70,0003 were killed instantly and more than 60,0004 injured. The total casualties in the two attacks defied the imaginations of the world. Japan surrendered unconditionally and the WWII came to an end. Need for peace The use of nuclear weapons against Japan was the first and the last application of nuclear technology in the war. Though, the scientists had predicted the devastating results of the bombing, the reality far exceeded the expected destruction and nearly annihilated the whole cities. The intentions of the American President in deliberately using the nuclear devices against any country, was diabolical in content and overwhelmingly ravaging in application. The unmitigated and macabre after effects of the bombing left the whole world stunned. The use of nuclear warfare also showed that man is capable of destroying his own creation and identity in order to establish his so called superiority. It also showed that if timely action is not taken, the whole human race can be destroyed. Two bombs destroyed two cities that not only left the existing generation to suffer but maiming and inflicting the future generations of the affected people. Use of nuclear weapons has long term repercussions for the mankind and there is urgent need to address the issue if one wants to safeguard the world for one’s children. Our children have a right to inherit a world that is politically, economically and environmentally safe. The rapid globalization has changed the socio-political and economical dynamics of countries, across the globe. The emerging new trends have brought in an era of multi-cultural society, where people from different countries, culture and religion, live together. The need to understand cross cultural values and develop new formats of human relationship has become crucial for peaceful co-existence. Nuclear weapons as effective deterrent The post WWII has seen unprecedented rivalry in the field of nuclear weapons by the two super powers. Few of the other nations like United Kingdom, France, China and India have also developed nuclear capability and presence of nuclear warfare in their armed forces cannot be denied. There has been cold war between the two super powers and despite several threats, the presence of nuclear weapons has deterred both the countries to actively promote peaceful processes. Even after the disintegration of USSR, the presence of nuclear weapons has been a proactive tool to diffuse explosive war conditions amongst the nations. League of Nations and later United Nations, has played a vital role as mediator to promote universal peace and policy of non proliferation. On 26 July 1963, President Kennedy had addressed the nation and acknowledged that ‘in an age when both sides have come to possess enough nuclear power to destroy the human race several times over... Each increase of tension has produced an increase of arms’ (Kennedy, 1963). He promoted the nuclear test ban treaty and disarmament and stated that it is a ‘victory for mankind...It will not reduce our need for arms or allies or programs of assistance to others. But it is an important first step towards peace, a step towards reason, a step away from war’ (Kennedy). When Russian army was moving towards Cuba, Kennedy’s ultimatum to Khrushchev, through the ‘hotline’, had effectively averted war. Thus, it is true that presence of nuclear warheads can serve as deterrent to war but at the same time, it is equally important to exercise discrimination in producing further nuclear weapons and destructive warfare that are potential danger to the human race. In the age of globalization and changing societal norms, the socio-political dynamics have transformed global perception to war. The imperatives of war have changed drastically and the presence of new paradigms has helped evolve new equations that encompass global values. In such a scenario, nuclear weapons of the powerful nations, facilitate peace processes amongst the big and small nations and encourage mutual cooperation and reconciliation. Nuclear weapons as non effective deterrent It is true that the cold war was fought, not with weapons but with effective deterrent tools like nuclear weapons that had effectively averted the nuclear holocaust. But the recent times have seen the fast advancement in technology and warfare tools that have defied human imagination. While the nuclear warheads can be used as deterrent tools and endorse preservation of mankind, it cannot be denied that the use or the non use of nuclear heads depend on the political will of the leadership and the policy guidelines of the government. According to 19th century thinker, Carl Von Clausewitz, ‘War is the continuation of policy by other means’(Chandler, 1988). History is witness to the fact that violence has been an intrinsic part of human life and terrible wars have been fought to proclaim one’s superiority and power. The agenda of war is to win. As against the olden days, the advancing technology has made weapons more fatal and dangerous. Mass destruction has become easier and therefore, more stringent policies are needed to contain the misuse of nuclear knowledge and more importantly, safeguarding this knowledge from reaching it to the hands of people with vested interests. Nuclear proliferation has become a global threat mainly because of the aspect that if the technology is somehow acquired by some unscrupulous group or persons, it might be used to further their own vested interests and heinous aims and objectives. The controversial Pakistani scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, was supposedly involved in nuclear black market and had even confessed to have passed on the nuclear technology to Iran and North Korea (IRNA5, 2004). Jonathan Schell, an eminent scientist, has succinctly described the major holocaust effects of the nuclear weapons and why it must be treated as global issues. The world is increasingly witnessing a new trend that is inclined towards propagating violence through the various terrorists’ outfits like Al-Qaeda, LeT6 etc. 9/11 event is a prime example where thousands of people were killed by few who nurtured hatred against the Americans. This had a cascading effect in the form of Afghanistan war. America bombarded the hideouts of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan that resulted in more civilian casualties than the terrorists. Then again, Iraq war has highlighted the personal agenda of powerful countries that had deliberately ravaged a small country like Iraq, on the pretext that it was in the processing of producing WMD7, which was later found to be totally false. The whole Iraq war was waged on the basis of incorrect information of the intelligence agencies of America! Conclusion It has, therefore become imperative that global concern of nuclear proliferation must be addressed though means that promote universal acceptance of using the nuclear know-how only for peaceful purpose. Concerted efforts, by one and all, are required to disseminate information about the wide ramifications of the nuclear warfare and we all should strive to develop global consensus towards judicious use of nuclear now-how to avert any future holocaust. The need of the hour is the clear understanding of the mass destruction capabilities of the nuclear weapons that can result if this technology is acquired by the new age terrorists group, who believe in the justification of killing for their own vested agenda that involves holding the world community to ransom. (1620) Reference Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Available from: [8 December 2008]. Chandler, David, ed. Dictionary of Battles: The Worlds Key Battles from 405 BC to Today. N.Y., N.Y.: Henry Holt and Co., 1988. Introduction IRNA. 4 February, 2004. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Available from: [8 December 2008]. Hein, Laura & Selden, Mark. (Eds.) (1997). Living With the Bomb: American and Japanese Cultural Conflicts in the Nuclear Age. An East Gate Book. New York. M.E. Sharpe. Available:< http://books.google.co.in/books?id=..> [8 December 2008]. Kennedy, J F. (26 July 1963). Address on Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Available from: [8 December 2008]. Read More