The Second World War was a testimony to the tremendous devastation that can be occasioned by these weapons of mass destruction. If we are to live in a world that knows peace and security, then we must, as a matter of necessity, create conditions in the international order than substantially diminish the threat of nuclear weapons.
The nuclear and arms race, which is now fiercer than ever before, looms menacingly over the whole world like a Sword of Damocles. The prospect of Iran, North Korea and other powerful nations possessing these very dangerous weapons and not planning on giving them up, makes the future even gloomier. We don’t need to think too hard to realise that when Iran is in possession of nuclear power its rivals will feel threatened and also jump into the same boat of acquiring nuclear arms. Israel and Saudi Arabia who are arch- rivals with Iran s will not lag behind anymore, with the knowledge that their rival is in a relentless struggle to acquire some of the most dangerous weapons known to man.
The danger of extremist groups like Isis getting hold of those weapons is one that should not be lost sight of. The fact that these groups self righteously kill people based on their beliefs poses an even greater threat. However, another danger lies in the way and manner the fight against terrorism will be executed in the coming years. Will America and the powers that be resort to the usage of such weapons in their efforts to combat terrorism? The answer to this question will be a very important determinant in the geopolitics of the globe. The whole world stands at the mercy of such destructive weapons. We seem to have forgotten the lessons potentially learned from Nagasaki and Hiroshima, which to this day suffer the terrible aftermath of nuclear and atomic bombing. The sobering fact of babies being born with very weird features and the land unfit for agriculture after more than 60 years are really frightening. What happened during that time due to diplomatic deviousness and hunger for war is not impossible in a time when we see the rise of the darkest forms of irrational fundamentalism.
Pakistan and India, who are ancient rivals, are both armed with nuclear weapons. These two countries have always threatening each other. And it’s clear as day that when these two ever go to war they wills most likely use those weapons. France too have been enriching their base with the former president Sarkozy once calling it “the nation’s insurance policy”, crystalising the challenge of persuading them to phase out those weapons.
Africa and other poorer regions of the world which don’t have the means to own such weapons are going to be the most threatened and intimidated in the face of devious foreign policies that operate on selfishness and contempt for the powerless . The solution will not be for them to acquire the same arms but to advocate a policy of disarmament. The ethical and moral conscience of humanity will ultimately remain in a vision laid down logically before the nations that have no access to nuclear, atomic and biological ammunition.
Efforts to stop the proliferation of nuclear arms should be as important and imperative to the international community as the fight against terrorism. The United Nations which was formed six odd years ago to avert the scourge of war for future generations must take serious measures in the fight against this existential threat to humanity. The former director of the UN body, International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed El-Baradei has said sometime back that nuclear terrorism constitute the most serious danger the world is facing. This stark warning from an expert in this field should jog world leaders into urgent action to neutralise the threat of nuclear weapons.
]]>
