Originally published on the CGS blog on August 2, 2007.
Next Monday, August 6th, marks the 62nd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. The U.S. dropped the atomic bomb, Little Boy, in 1945, which killed over 150,000 people either directly or due to injuries or radiation.
In order to ensure that the world does not witness another Hiroshima, the U.S. needs to play a vital role in strengthening the non-proliferation regime. So what does that really mean? It means taking key actions like:
-Leading by example and not pursuing new nuclear weapons like the Reliable Replacement Warhead and reducing our own nuclear stockpiles
-Addressing the second pillar of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, disarmament. Some say disarmament is unrealistic, but at the bare minimum the U.S. should lead a dialogue in reducing global nuclear stockpiles. This would ease tensions between nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states in the short-term.
-Working within the regime and not breaking the rules that we helped create (eg: sharing technology with non-signatories).
Those are just a few key steps. I’m curious to see what others have to say? Perhaps in a few years we can go a little crazy and even ratify the CTBT.
