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As envoys from around the world meet this month in New York to review the NPT, this important security system is mired in such discord that it is in danger of crumbling.
One would think, with the end of the cold war, the global war against terrorism, and the high level of attention paid to proliferation, that NPT members would be poised to reaffirm the Treaty’s vital importance and take action to enhance it for the years ahead. Yet, it is now clear that the NPT is in crisis.
North Korea does not have a missile that can hit the United States. This is a theoretical capability, not an operational one. Nor is there any evidence, at least in open sources or leaked classified ones, that North Korea can make a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on a long-range missile.
In an April 29th op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Henry Sokolski and George Perkovich challenge Iran’s argument about its ‘inalienable’ right to enrich uranium under the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Citing the overall intent of the NPT to curb the spread of dangerous nuclear technology, Sokolski and Perkovich argue that the right of states to develop "peaceful nuclear energy" is not absolute and Iran’s stance that a state can legally acquire all nuclear technology up to but not including a complete nuclear weapon is a misinterpretation of the treaty.
Testimony was given as part of the hearing entitled, "Previewing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty."
The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a good program that has been puffed up out of proportion. While the initiative is a valuable extension of export control implementation, it is not and cannot be a silver bullet to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons-related materials and equipment to terrorists or states.
India's foreign minister visited Washington last week and met with President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss a range of mutual interests, from countering China's strategic clout to promoting economic growth and resolving India-Pakistan tensions. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's obsession with Iran threatens to block a major initiative that could advance those goals.
Strengthening the NPT cannot be done by the US alone, but it certainly cannot be done without Washington’s active and constructive support. The U.S. must show that it can and will effectively use the diplomatic tools at its disposal to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
23 top non-proliferation experts and former government officials have endorsed an agenda to strengthen the NPT. The group agrees that the NPT's future success depends on "universal compliance with tighter rules to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, more effective regional security strategies, and renewed progress toward fulfillment of... disarmament obligations."
The president’s commission on intelligence delivered half a report. Like the colonel played by Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men," the commission acted as if America can’t handle the truth. The commissioners would have us believe that those who provided the false intelligence were solely to blame, and the senior political leaders who ordered and presented the claims to the public were passive victims. Conservative pundits have quickly declared, "case closed," and urge us to focus on rearranging the deck chairs on the intelligence ship. But buried deep inside the report is evidence that contradicts the commission’s own conclusions and raises serious questions about their recommendations. Most damning is the tale of two CIA analysts who were removed from their positions for "causing waves" when they questioned the reliability of the defector known as "Curveball." (Read More)