DISADVANTAGE/PROLIFERATION

LINK: USA NUCLEAR DE-EMPHASIS LEADS TO NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION

RELIABILITY AND STRENGTH OF USA NUCLEAR FORCES IS WHAT STOPS OTHER FRIENDLY NATIONS FROM GETTING NUCLEAR WEAPONS

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER; The Weekly Standard, November 1, 1999, SECTION: COVER STORY; Pg. 21 HEADLINE: Arms Control: The End of an Illusion; The Cold War was won at Reykjavik. The Senate's defeat of the test ban treaty is Reykjavik II. // ln-acs-11-11-99

So much for our enemies. What about our friends? Here the argument for non-proliferation breaks down completely. In fact, it is the reliability and strength of the American nuclear arsenal that, if anything, deters friendly countries from seeking to acquire their own nuclear weapons. If the United States were irrevocably committed to a test ban and thus to the slow erosion of the reliability of its arsenal, our guarantee to non-nuclear friends would similarly erode. Countries like Japan and Taiwan would be more inclined to acquire their own nuclear weapons as they lost confidence in the American nuclear deterrent.

AMBIGUOUS NUCLEAR POLICY IS A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE SPREAD OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Clinton administration officials explained this apparent inconsistency by touting the virtues of having an "ambiguous" nuclear doctrine. However, this sort of "don. t ask, don. t tell" nuclear doctrine only serves to legitimize the role of nuclear weapons and increase the incentives of other states to retain and/or acquire the own nuclear weapons capabilities.