Political Concepts

Nuclear weapons – the ultimate bargaining chip

Barack Obama’s quest to rid the world of Nuclear weapons appears to be gaining momentum. Years of discussion, especially regarding Iran’s nuclear capability may finally be going America’s way with the increasing support of Russia. In addition to putting immense pressure on Iran continuously pushing for increasingly heavier measures, the US has also called for both the US and Russia to reduce stockpiles, “We can’t reduce the threat of a nuclear weapon going off unless those that possess the most nuclear weapons, the United States and Russia, take serious steps to reduce our stockpiles,” Obama hopes to reduce both their nuclear stockpiles by a third from the end of this year.

Obama’s vision extends globally to prevent other countries from acquiring nuclear weapons, Obama hopes to be the beacon of non proliferation stating in this first address to the UN General Assembly he stated “We must stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and seek the goal of a world without them,” he said. “Today the threat of proliferation is growing in scope and complexity…..If we fail to act, we will invite nuclear arms races in every region, and the prospect of wars and acts of terror on a scale that we can hardly imagine.” However this encouragement only appears to be directed to some and not all countries that possess nuclear weapons, and with the recent ban being lifted by US congress regarding the supplying of nuclear technology and fuel to India the US appears to be back tracking.

To understand why America is so determined to keep hold of its own weapons and allow some nations to keep theirs, but forbid others the full reality of these weapons need to be discussed.

Nuclear weapons were first created during the Second World War. During any war effort is made to expel the enemy, for these nations the time of war spend huge sums on efficient and destructive weapons. In America within the Manhattan project the first nuclear bomb was created. Soon after much to the surprise of the rest of the world the USSR detonated their first nuclear bomb, the US was hoping to use this new weapon to draw concessions from the Soviets however with the Soviet Union developing their own bomb, nuclear technology became a level playing field.

A nuclear weapon when deployed has huge destructive capabilities as through a nuclear reaction vast quantities of energy are released from relatively small amounts of matter. Nuclear technology has not changed much in the last 60 years, it has lead to multiple developments in missile technology, as a warhead would need to be deployed.

The arms and space race between the US and USSR to gain supremacy through not only stockpiling weapons but also the creation of new technologies including the hydrogen bomb and space exploration. This arms race grew to dizzying heights to the point that it ensured ‘mutually assured destruction’ (MAD), where each country was able not only to launch a devastating weapon but could also attack again after being hit, therefore each had ‘second-strike’ capability. Military capability grew to such a level that both sides chose to refrain from attacking the other.

The call initially for restricted the surge forward in nuclear weapons was primarily economic, Both nations faced huge financial costs in developing nuclear weapons and both nations had to reduce military spending and this was what led to a number of nuclear arms agreements in the 1970’s otherwise known as detente. During this time other nations such as china, Pakistan, India and Israel have created and tested their own nuclear weapons. To obstruct a potential global arms race the test ban treaty was formed and signed by the USSR, UK and US, first in partial form then comprehensively.

Part of this effort was the Nuclear proliferation treaty created in 1968. Signatories of this treaty agreed to not create nor sell nuclear weapons, to aim to reduce their nuclear arms and to only use nuclear technology in a peaceful manner (for generating electricity in a nuclear power plant). Iran being a signatory of the treaty had drawn the attention of the world due to Ahmadinejad’s empty speech in 2005, claiming that ‘Israel must be wiped off the map’. Far from being serious about this statement since it is the hard liner clerics who truly control Iran and not Ahmadinejad, his only aim in the conference was to rally his people and surrounding Muslims around him, since the Palestinian issue is still a soft spot for the wider Muslim community. Obama determination to not allow Iran to possess any nuclear weapons appears to be a selfless act, in not only trying to protect Israel but also to rid the world of them.

This may be seen as a move in line with the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) since recent statements focus on major powers like the US and Russia to reduce their current stock piles on nuclear warheads. However encouragement from the US towards India and the Gulf States shows that the US supports nuclear capability as long as the nation in question would never be a potential threat. In the case of India, the volatile nature of India’s relationship with Pakistan and its relationship with China would lead to more nuclear weapons which seems to be against the spirit of the NPT, however what is clear from this new partnership the American economy stands to benefit an incredible $11 billion for which US firms Boeing and Lockheed are bidding alongside several others.

America shows that nuclear weapons are more than an additional part of the military, it is also a potential trump card with which a leading nation may use in the political arena as the US attempted do so during the second world war. The risk to the lives of potential victims does not appear to be much concern as long as the state happens to be a trading partner and a useful political tool, where India can be used to weaken Chinas and Russia’s economic standing in the world. What is more telling is that the US has no intension of getting rid of its arms but to only reduce it whilst still possessing the most nuclear weapons in the world.

Islam’s view towards nuclear weapons is as with all types of technology, as of potential use. The ability to protect the state of Islam is an obligation upon the state, and as is clear from history a major nation cannot afford to be vulnerable amongst other threatening and powerful nations. A nuclear weapon held for deterrent purposes is something Islam obliges. Unlike the US Islam instructs that the point of entering a new nation is to spread the deen to the people not to wipe them out, in an effort to remove a threat. The use of nuclear weapons will only be permitted when the entity of the Islamic state is at stake, where the enemy has completely routed the Islamic forces and not conventional force will repel the enemy.