[Peace-discuss] Bush's nuclear policies and NPT

[patton paul]

U.S., NATO Should Rethink New Nuke Policy
Wed Oct 8, 8:07 AM ET

Miriam Kagan, Inter Press Service

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct 7 (IPS) -- Important non-proliferation treaties are
threatened by a renewed interest in nuclear weapons programs on the part
of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO
(news - web sites)), says a new report released Tuesday.

"NATO and Nuclear Disarmament," by the Washington-based Institute for
Energy and Environmental Research, analyzes conflicts arising from NATO's
treaty obligations and calls for NATO countries to encourage the United
States to stop all efforts to promote new nuclear programs and to
"denuclearize" NATO.

The report was released as NATO defense ministers prepare for a meeting in
Colorado Springs, the city that is host to NORAD, the North American
Aerospace Defense Command.

Under article six of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), all NATO
members, including the United States, agreed to undertake a process of
nuclear disarmament. The NPT was originally designed to prevent the spread
of nuclear weapons and know-how from nuclear to non-nuclear powers, and
was amended in 1996 to include Article VI.

Current NATO policy, which maintains an enduring reliance on nuclear
weapons as well as the idea of "first-use option," stands in contradiction
of the pledge its members made for nuclear disarmament.

Recent moves by the U.S. government indicate that the United States may
begin designing, testing, and producing new nuclear weapons, in direct
defiance of the NPT. The 2002 Nuclear Posture Review, issued by the
Department of Defense (news - web sites), set a course for U.S. nuclear
strategy that includes renewed emphasis on the role of nuclear weapons in
military planning.

Recent budget requests have also included funding to develop usable
nuclear weapons such as "bunker busters" and "mini-nukes."

These plans would bring the United States, and thus NATO, into violation
of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). All NATO countries, except
the United States, are party to the CTBT, which mandates a moratorium on
nuclear weapons testing.

New nuclear weapons designs would require tests, and while the United
States is not a CTBT signatory and the Bush administration has expressed
its inclination not to present the CTBT to Congress for ratification,
weapons developed as a result of nuclear testing could be incorporated
into NATO nuclear policy, making all other members of NATO in violation of
their CTBT obligations.

While the need for new nuclear weapons and their efficacy as a military
tool is questionable, "the U.S. nuclear weapons establishment is itching
to design new weapons," Dr. Arjun Makhijani, IEER's president, said at the
release of the report.

Makhijani also speculated that because of the strength and influence of
the nuclear weapons lobby in Washington, the new initiatives are
pork-barrel projects rather than issues of military necessity.

"In essence, the U.S. is saying to the rest of the world: 'you can't have
nukes, but we're going to have bigger and better ones'", said Clyde
Prestowitz, the author of "Rogue Nation."

U.S. non-compliance with the NPT and CBTB may encourage nations to develop
their own nuclear arsenals or make nations reluctant to uphold
non-proliferation commitments, some experts worry.

As an example, Makhijani pointed to the recent "closeness of the Pakistani
military establishment to Islamic fundamentalists, that can lead to
leakage of nuclear material" across the Pakistan-Afghanistan (news - web
sites) border.

The report called for NATO allies to launch efforts to denuclearize NATO
and to encourage the United States to abandon plans to develop new nuclear
programs.

"Non-nuclear allies should make their best efforts to denuclearize NATO
and work to remove nuclear weapons from Europe. This will help relax
Russia, which is annoyed by the continued presence of nuclear weapons in
Europe," said Makhijani.

At the briefing, Makhijani warned that although Russia has met all its
commitments under NPT and CTBT, it still maintains a large nuclear arsenal
and has a huge nuclear production capacity, and actions by the United
States may encourage Russia to re-start its own nuclear program.



Makhijani called for a "soft diplomacy" approach from NATO allies.

"The most important thing for NATO allies to do right now is to
communicate the idea that the denuclearization of NATO is desirable for
U.S. security because it puts NATO into a good position to negotiate
non-proliferation," he said.

The recent row at the United Nations (news - web sites) over Iraq (news -
web sites) and U.S. irritation at plans to develop a European security
force independent of NATO bring into question the ability of NATO allies
to influence U.S. nuclear policy.

Preventing the United States from reneging on its treaty obligations may
turn out to be crucial to upholding various international law regimes
around the world.

"The U.S. is needlessly squandering enormous reservoirs of good will and
acting as its own enemy," Prestowitz observed.