Nuclear Weapons and Disarmament

by kartikayguptalivecouk (student)

Nuclear Weapons are weapons of mass destruction whose explosive power derives from a nuclear reaction. These weapons were first developed by the United States of America (USA) and used in World War Two against in 1945 against the Japanese. These weapons caused huge destruction and made the Japanese surrender at once. Since then nuclear weapons have been detonated over two thousand times but that was for testing and development purposes. In 1945 when USA did bomb Japan, the nuclear weapons were still in their infancy but now A modern thermonuclear weapon weighs a little more than 1,100 kg can produce an explosive force comparable to the detonation of more than 1.2 million tonnes of TNT; therefore, even a small nuclear bomb can completely devastate an entire city by blast, fire and . Radiation of a nuclear weapon is deadly and it is very harmful to humans. Radiation is said to kill more people than the nuclear bomb itself because it has devastating effects such as death, cancer and horrible burns. Fire is another attribute of the nuclear weapons. People in the blast radius of a “Nuke” were vaporised instantly and had no chance of survival but however the further you got away from the blast the lesser the damage. A type of this weapon is napalm; however this is not class as a Nuclear weapon but its damage is long lasting. USA dropped napalm on the Vietnamese in the Vietnam War in 1956 and still today people are suffering due to long lasting diseases which have carried through to the third generation. Nuclear weapons are a whole new level of warfare and have caused scientists to make newer weapons such as biological and chemical weapons which have the same scale of damage as the nuclear weapons. Chemical weapons include agents which are made scientifically and can cause instant diseases and deaths. Biological weapons are very destructive and can destroy environments and ecospheres very rapidly. Biological weapons consist of deadly virus, bacteria and fungi which can kill by causing diseases and can wipe out a town if the get into water supply or source. Countries which have the ability or power to use the nuclear weapons are Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, United States, and North Korea; however Iran is seeking to get them. Countries like South Africa and Japan have said that they don’t want to use nuclear weapons because they know the destruction they can cause from experience or knowledge.

Proliferation and disarmament are two very different concepts. Proliferation means rapid increase in numbers or rapid reproduction of something. In this case it is the rapid and ever growing production of nuclear weapons which are very expensive and are destructive. Disarmament is the reduction or withdrawal of military forces and weapons because they are too dangerous or are illegal. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction and one warhead can destroy a whole city hence the strong rebellion and protest to disarm them. These points are being heavily debated because countries are reproducing nuclear weapons while activists are protesting and want them to disarm them because they consider it as a large threat due to moral and religious grounds. Countries like India have over 60 nuclear weapons while countries like the USA have 10,500 nuclear weapons hence urging India to catch up and make more. People believe that it is like a competition to see who has the most and this makes it more dangerous because it can cause a chain reaction which can lead to huge destruction. This is why activists are paranoid and want countries to reduce or completely destroy the nuclear weapons which belong to them to end of the persistent threat and fear of an attack. However this is not as easy as it sounds because there is an element of trust and then there is also the worry of money used in making and costs of disposing. Trust is very important because if one country does disarm but another does not; this leaves the country which did disarm completely vulnerable to all attacks without being able to retaliate. Money is also an issue because nuclear weapons cost a lot to make in the first place and destroying them in an eco-friendly way it will cost more money which in the end means loss of large sums of money and more or less a waste. Countries are not willing to waste this kind of money considering a nuclear warhead costs $3, 00000 million to manufacture and produce. This is why proliferation and disarmament is such a heated argument and it is hard to implement in the complex modern world.

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Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction and over 50% of people support the abolition of these weapons. Famous figures such as Barack Obama and Dalai Lama and organisations such as Greenpeace International are against nuclear weapons and want a completely nuclear free world to remove the imminent threat and danger of the destruction of the planet. The quote “Nuclear power plants are, next to nuclear warheads themselves, the most dangerous devices that man has ever created. Their construction and proliferation is the most irresponsible, in fact the most criminal act ever to have taken place on this planet” Patrick Moore shows that mankind is making a mistake and is being irresponsible with the nuclear weapons because they are the most dangerous devices ever and are bound to destroy the world. He describes this act as criminality which emphasises the mankind should be punished and how bad nuclear weapons are to the world. The mayor of Hiroshima; a city victim of one of the most merciless and horrible attack every witness said in a recent Peace Declaration ““That fateful summer, 8.15. The roar of a B-29 breaks the morning calm. A parachute opens in the blue sky. Then suddenly, a ﬂash an enormous blast - silence - hell on earth. The eyes of young girls watching the parachute were melted. Their faces became giant charred blisters. The skin of people seeking help dangled from their ﬁngernails. Their hair stood on end. Their clothes were ripped to shreds. People trapped in houses toppled by the blast were burnt alive... Hiroshima was a hell where those who somehow survived envied the dead." This is a very strong statement against the nuclear weapons because it tells of a first-hand account of the horrific bombings, This also tells you how and what people felt during and after the bombing especially the last phrase “survived envied the dead” showing it was living hell for them.

Main reasons for abolition of nuclear weapons are threat of mass murder or genocide, accidental war and terrorists. Mass murder or genocide because one nuclear weapon can destroy a city like Nagasaki and Hiroshima in seconds and this kind of mass killing of innocent people can also then be used to kill a race in minutes. Accidental war can potentially be the end of the planet and this is because of failure in technology (false alerts) and if nuclear weapons are retained for long then the percentage of war will just increase until it is certain. Also historically it has been close when nuclear war was almost started and a prime example of this the Cuban Missile Crisis which almost led to a nuclear war and nothing is going to stop this from happening again but this time it may not be stopped. Terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims and a terrorist is a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aims. Terrorists and terrorism are already feared across the world for their horrible crimes such as the 9/11 plane crashes in USA which caused lots of deaths. The longer the countries keep these weapons of mass destruction; the more widespread they will become and therefore countries such as Iran who are currently seeking them will get their hands on them and this can cause havoc. A prime example of an unstable country having these weapons is Pakistan because they are home to many terrorist organisations and one leak or an illegal trade could lead to destruction of life and humanity. Imagine a world in which terrorists could push one button and destroy a country for political aims and this is why nuclear weapons should be abolished. The world court has already made it illegal to use these weapons because it understands the destruction so why not disarm them? There are also many treaties such as the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) which is there to stop countries from getting more nuclear bombs. Currently the NPT has 189 countries and parties which are members and agree to terms which mean they can’t make any more of these weapons and use them. Mass Proliferation has already begun in countries such as India and China who both aim to have over 20,000 warheads by 2020 which could lead to even more countries making bombs. This is a vicious cycle and hence people and activists want to break it and abolish / disarm the nuclear weapons once and for all as it helps the economy and it helps the world.

Islam is a religion which is heavily stereotyped in the media because of a few extremists who make the faith look bad in the public eyes to achieve their political aims and to prove a point to the public. Little does the public know that the Quran teaches about peace and that Islam itself means peace. The common greeting between Muslims “a salaam alaikum” means peace be upon you. Muslims believe that they should live in a world of justice and peace but they think that war sometimes war may be needed. They believe in the sanctity of life and that all life created by God is sacred and finally the Quran has evidence of teachings on peace which is completely against the common stereotypes about Islam. There are also Islamic organisations like Islamic Society for Liberty And Modernity who are for peace and against nuclear weapons.

Jihad means struggle and it is split into two groups. Greater Jihad which means inner struggle and Lesser Jihad which is military struggle. Muslims believe that it is “OK” to fight under strict conditions which tell Muslims when a war can be fought justifiably. These conditions include: The war must be fought for a just cause, war must be a last resort, it must be led by Muslim authority, no one innocent should be attacked and ended as soon as the enemy surrenders. These terms are the conditions for a just war under the faith of Islam. Muslims are against nuclear weapons because one of the conditions which state “no one innocent should be attacked” but nuclear weapons kill lots on innocent people in seconds which is why Muslims believe that nuclear weapons are wrong. Muslims believe that Allah created them in his own image and this is shown by the quote “Nor take life - which Allah has made sacred - except for just cause.” This is the concept of the Sanctity of Life that life is sacred and must not be destroyed. Muslims also believe that they don’t have the right to kill anyone because that is Allah’s job and they can’t do it because he brought you to life so he has the right to kill you. This is shown by the quote “How can ye reject the faith in Allah?- seeing that ye were without life, and He gave you life; then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye return.” The golden rule of Islam is shown by the quote “None of you truly believes (in Allah and in His religion) until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” This quote shows and tells Muslims to treat others as you would like to be treated and this is another reason why Muslims are against nuclear weapons as they would not want that to happen to them. Quran has other teachings on peace as well which include “Who spend [in the cause of Allah ] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the doers of good” This quote tells Muslims to seek reconciliation and not revenge. It says that it’s Allah’s duty to punish and not for the people to return evil with evil. Forgiveness is important in Islam. Another example is “If two parties among the Believers fall into a quarrel, make ye peace between them” shows that Muslims are completely against violence and rather see peace. This is why Muslims are against the use of nuclear weapons.

Islamic Society for Liberty And Modernity (ISLAM) has aims which go back to the roots of Islam and show that they are completely against nuclear warfare. Their main aim is to “revive Islam, save it from anachronistic interpretations, and make it a true power to support the values of liberty and humanity.” This organisation had a big part to play in the fatwa issued by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei forbidding the production, proliferation and use of nuclear bombs. This is a large step against stereotypes and towards peace within Islam. A fatwa is a religious decree issued by a Muslim leader against a specific issue and it is incumbent upon all Muslims to abide by it. This clearly states that all most Muslims are against the use of the nuclear weapons and are willing to do anything to stop proliferation of them and that they want to disarm them.

Both religions have lots of similarities and very little differences when it comes to nuclear weapons and war. Christianity and Islam both believe that war and nuclear weapons should be a last resort because they cause great havoc and chaos. The conditions of each religion on war and nuclear weapons are very similar and that share the key themes of justice and nuclear weapons being a last resort. In both religions war is “OK” when defending .Luke 22:36 says "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one” and for Islam “To those against whom war is made, permission given (to fight), because they are wronged- and verily, Allah is the most powerful for their aid” This shows that sometimes that both religion believe that war can be a necessity. Another important thing that both religions believe in is the sanctity of life and that all life is created by Jesus/ Allah is completely sacred and that it should not be destroyed. They believe that only God has a right to destroy life because he created it and they should not do it by using nuclear weapons because it is against the basic rule in both religions. Christianity and Islam are both against the killing of innocent lives because they believe that it is wrong and should be punished as they have done nothing wrong and it is again completely against the sanctity of life. Also both religions teach about treating others are you would like to be treated and forgive people who have made mistakes rather than seeking revenge. Finally both religions are generally against the use of Nuclear Weapons and other WMD’s because they deem them to be morally wrong and completely against moral teachings. Both religions only share one difference that Muslims believe in fighting against oppression until the tumult has stopped but on the other hand Christians are more strict because they don’t mention it and they say be prepared to fight but not to actually fight oppression.

In my opinion Nuclear weapons are always wrong. This is because even though they create an unsaid truce and they give the general public an ever- feeling sense of security which can be good. Also they can stop full scale wars and can we trust all nations to disarm? But the negatives of the nuclear weapons completely outweigh the positives. This is because the entire world would be more secure if the planet were free of nuclear weapons as the imminent threat and sense of danger will be gone, nuclear weapons are illegal to use so why keep them?, they are morally reprehensible, Nuclear weapons have not yet prevented any wars, which is what they were supposed to do, they cost a lot and finally they would remove the chance of the world getting destroyed in seconds if disarmed. Another reasons why nuclear weapons are a hazard and are bad because they are dangerous in the wrong hand i.e. terrorists. If terrorists get hold of them then the world could be in great danger. I also agree with the religious beliefs of Islam and Christianity of the sanctity of life because I am very grateful to God for my life and therefore I am completely against the killing of the innocent to achieve political aims or for resources. I am also quite against the general idea of war because I am a conscientious objector and war just has little positives. Circumstances in which I think that war should be allowed are similar to those of Christianity and Islam because I believe that war has to have conditions otherwise there will be utter chaos. I think war must be justified, it should definitely not harm any innocent people or animals, it should be a last resort and it should stop as soon as the tumult finishes because this way war can’t be accidental and not long-lasting either meaning peace can be restored and maintained with ease.

Nuclear Weapons and Disarmament

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