Nuclear War
...s or encourage any non-nuclear state to manufacture or acquire nuclear weapons. IAEA is also allowed to establish safeguards to ensure that nuclear facilities are used exclusively for peaceful purposes. This treaty went into effect in 1970; however in 1995 it was reviewed. During the review, a pledge for nuclear weapons wanted to set up a timetable for dismantling weapons which was requested. Forty-four declared and potential nuclear states need to sign it in order for it to take place. The US signed this treaty, but the Senate refused it. The US stopped testing and producing nuclear weapons in 1992, and began to use computer stimulations. They realized that they need to test nuclear weapons because the aging of weapons can modify the bombs to the point where they won’t work anymore. Because of the September 11th attacks on the twin towers, the US has withdrawn from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. This treaty was signed in 1972 which allows only one missile site for each country and a minimum of a hundred missiles can be held there. The testing of sea-based, air-based, mobile-land based, and space-based missile defense systems are prohibited. The US has decided to create a National Missile Defense System, NMD, to protect themselves from attacks. The NMD will contain a space-based satellite and an early warning radar system to detect missiles. X-band radar stations will be used to track missiles in detail, and ground control command centers will be used to send information to interceptors. The land-based interceptor will be used to destroy targets on impact. The cost of this system is estimated to be sixty billion dollars. The only problem with this defense system is the question of whether the system can distinguish between proxies and real warheads. Russia and China oppose the idea of creating the NMD. Russia believes the NMD may lead to a new arms race and they cannot maintain a new arms race. A new arms race would ruin the accomplishments of the thirty years of arms control negotiations. The US believes that North Korea will be capable of attacking them with missiles by 2005; Iran and Iraq will be capable several years later. NMD is necessary for the protection of US citizens, because currently there are six thousand Russian warheads aimed at the Un...