DISADVANTAGE/PROLIFERATION

LINK: SANCTIONS PREVENT PROLIFERATION

John Barker, Hudson Inst., 1997 [Adelphi Paper: Nonproliferation incentives for Russia and Ukraine, p. 191

Despite the mixed record regarding the actual effectiveness of sanctions as a non-proliferation instrument, their ever-present threat probably gives some important credibility to international efforts. Even if sanctions have no always eliminated questionable export activities, they can raise the political silence of the non -proliferation issue substantially and thereby increase the likelihood that the political leadership will give more consideration to external concerns.

UNILATERAL SANCTIONS ARE THE LYNCHPIN OF OUR NON-PROLIFERATION POLICY

Jesse Helms; Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Foreign Affairs January, 1999 / February, 1999; Pg. 2 HEADLINE: What Sanctions Epidemic?; U.S. Business' Curious Crusade //lnu-acs

Unilateral sanctions, in fact, are the linchpin of our nonproliferation policy. According to a recently declassified analysis by the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, "the history of U.S.-China relations shows that China has made specific nonproliferation commitments only under the threat or imposition of sanctions." Short of war, sanctions are the main leverage the United States has over China.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS ACQUISITION IS A SCAPEGOAT FOR LEADERS TRYING TO DISTRACT THEIR PEOPLE FROM TERRIBLE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

The Prague Post, June 16, 1999 HEADLINE: Nuclear fears are unjustified // Inu-acs

Nuclear proliferation by these countries would only be a scapegoat for leaders of these nations who are looking for an outlet of their people's desperate economic and political situations. An excellent example is North Korea, where millions of people are starving and living in desperate poverty, while their government spends its scant resources on missile and nuclear weapons development.