Who Owns the largest number of Nukes, Mrs. Clinton?
Of the 20,000 nuclear weapons in the world, US has 9,400 and the Russians 10,000 warheads. Reduce them first before pointing fingers at Pakistan.
DR. SHIREEN M. MAZARI
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Hillary Clinton once again exposed the duplicity of the United States towards the whole issue of nuclear nonproliferation, in her speech to the Conference on Disarmament [CD] in Geneva on 28 February 2011.
In the process she also exposed the contradictions in the US approach towards nonproliferation and nuclear fissile material stockpiles. According to her:
“Nearly 20 years after the end of the Cold War, the world has more than 20,000 nuclear weapons. As I speak to you today, centrifuges around the world are spinning out more enriched uranium, a still significant amount of it to weapons grade. Plutonium is being churned out in reactors and separated from spent fuel in reprocessing plants. The world faces no shortage of ingredients for nuclear bombs. Yet more fissile materials are made every single day.
The question before us today is whether we will – at last – agree to end the dedicated production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons. Halting production is in the interest of every country, and I urge this conference to end the stalemate and open negotiations on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) without further delay.”
A noble thought perhaps but let us look at the hard facts on the ground. Of the 20,000 nuclear weapons she herself referred to, the US has 9,400 and the Russians 10,000 warheads, so we all know who holds the bulk of these dangerous weapons. Out of the US stock, only 4000 await elimination while the Russians are going to eliminate a larger fraction of their warheads. So both the US and Russia have a long way to go before they can be looked at seriously in terms of nuclear weapons disarmament as required under Article VI of the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In the context of the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, or FMCT, the US knows that a cut-off date for stopping production of fissile material will not rid the world of existing stockpiles which is why Pakistan is asking for a Fissile Material Treaty where existing stockpiles arefirst reduced and then a cut-off date is implemented. Just look at the existing stockpiles that some states hold for adding to their weapons production and, in the case of Japan, for producing nuclear weapons.
Plutonium stocks are as follows (include the total of civilian and military stocks):
Russia has estimated stockpile of about 181.7 metric tons;
US 91.8 metric tons;
India 3.74 metric tons;
Japan 36.1 metric tons;
Pakistan 0 metric tons at present
Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) stocks at present are:
US 745 metric tons
Russia 1282 metric tons;
Pakistan 2.6 metric tons;
India 1.3 metric tons.
So again, if it seriously wants to reduce the danger of nuclear weapons and fissile material from the globe then the US needs to cut its existing stockpiles along with Russia. It is sheer hypocrisy to point fingers at Pakistan which is truly seeking to reduce existing stockpiles and then a cut-off mechanism.
If one sees the figures on the ground then the Pakistani position is the only rational approach to the fissile material problem while the Clinton histrionics are mere propaganda and reveal the US is least interested in nuclear disarmament and fissile stocks elimination. All that the US demand for an FMCT will do is to stop those who have no stockpiles already from having them while those who have dangerous stockpiles will continue to hold them. This is the farce the US has reduced the issue to today.
Dr. Mazari, a Pakistani nuclear expert, is the CEO of Strategic Technology Resources, a Pakistani think-tank.
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