By George Bunn and John B. Rhinelander
Less than a year after dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the United States adopted a statute prohibiting the transfer of its nuclear weapons to any other country. It was not until 23 years later, however, that countries began signing an international treaty that prohibited the transfer of nuclear weapons by a country that had them to any other country, indeed “to any recipient whatsoever.” On July 1, 1968, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and many other countries signed the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) at ceremonies in Washington, Moscow, and London. Subsequently, nearly 190 countries have signed and ratified the treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons from the few countries that then had them to the many that did not and at reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons from the world.
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The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Then and Now
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An excellent review of what NPT has gone through over the years. It appears that it never got fully going due to the fact that those committing the Original Sin were always protected by various mechanism. Sometimes it was diplomacy and, if that failed to protect the status quo, then Veto in the SC produced the intended results.
Even in this learned discourse the writers have tended to err on the side of caution. One would be all for their stance if Realpolitik did not govern, generally, the actions of the Haves. Unfortunately, since the Bucha rest Treaty, the world has seen only cold war/ cold peace. The uni-polar world also tends to be 'pragmatic' which may stand for keeping others out of the Ring so long as the inmates can hold out. The moment some interest is served of one of the Five then there will be a cmoeflague-entry as is being offered to India by the US.
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