I think everyone is pretty aware of the Bush Administration's policy of other nations acquiring and/or developing WMD. We went to war in Iraq on the suspicion of WMD and we chide numerous countries such as North Korea for attempting to develop nuclear weapons and technology.

However, on the home front the Bush Administration has ok'd a huge increase in spending to build and develop new nuclear weapons to the tune of $6 Billion. Additionally, the Bush Administration recently lifted a 1993 ban on low-yield nuclear weapons testing.

I believe that we are even in violation of the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty with these actions. An excerpt of the treaty is below:


The questions for debate are:
1) How can the Bush Administration possibly expect that nuclear weapons development will be for the greater good of our national security when any high school educated person knows nuclear weapons result in mutually assured destruction and result in irreparable damage to the environment?

2) How can we expect other nations to not seek nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction when our country has decided that after decades it should build its arsenal of nuclear weapons and develop new technologies to destroy the world? Do we have the right to invade a country that seeks nuclear weapons when we are producing them within our own borders freely?

1. Our nuclear weapons are a deterrant to other countries that possess them. We have agreements with many other countries (namely Germany, and Japan). They are under what is called our "umbrella". We are not asking countries such as France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, etc to destroy their weapons. For the most part (with the exception of Pakistan) the countries that possess these weapons are responsible enough not to sell them to terrorists, or rouge nations. Those are the countries/groups we don't want to obtain these weapons for obvious reasons.

2. The countries we go after have no right to have these weapons. No state that does not derive its authority from representative institutions that coexist with fundemental human rights can legitimately argue that it can subject its own people to the threat of nuclear pre-emption or retaliation on the basis of its alleged rights of sovereignty because the people it makes into nuclear targets have not consented to the risks brought upon them. Not only that but in the case of North Korea they have proved time and time again that they will sell thier military technology to anyone that wants it. We cannot allow these weapons to get into the hands of terrorists and/or other rogue nations that would use them without a second thought. How can you acctually argue that Saddam, Kim Jong Il,or the Ayatollah (three proven tyrants) have the same right to possess these weapons as the United States, Russia, France, or China?

Agreed, that is the reason we have nuclear weapons. But we have 1000's of them currently, what possible purpose would manufacturing 1000's more serve? Are we not secure enough with 1000 nuclear weapons that we need 2000 with upgraded technology?



That is not what I am arguing. What I am arguing is leadership by example and not imposing hypocritical policies. How do you think we look to the rest of the world when we tell other nations no, no, no you can't play with nuclear weapons but we can build as many as we want.

Let me clarify by saying that I am not against our country possessing nuclear weapons per se. What I am against is increasing those stockpiles in the name of national security. What threat are those additional nuclear weapons going to protect us from exactly that our current ones do not?

If you want to increase national security, fine, spend 6 billion dollars fortifying our nation's ports of commerce, streamlining immigration procedures, gathering Intelligence or methods of detecting biological and chemical attacks. I fail to see how an increase of nuclear weapons can be done in the name of national security.

<div><table width='50%' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' style='border: 1px solid black' align='center'><tr><td class='maintitle'> Topic closed...</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Reason: Duplicate topic.<br /><br />Recommended action: Please use the search feature to locate a similar topic. If you are unable to find a similar topic, please contact the staff member who closed the topic by clicking the PM button below this post.<br /><br />Helpful links:<br /> - Simple Search<br /> - Advanced Search<br /> - Starting New Topics<br /> - Survival Guide<br /> - The Rules<br /> - Staff Directory<br /></td></tr><tr><td class='darkrow1'><div align='center'>Note: This is an automated response.</div></td></tr></table></div>

Here's the first debate: WMDs & Other Countries. Please join us there