Is the Benefit of Deterrence Brought from Nuclear Weapons Worth the Surrounding Problems it Brings?

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Abstract

What is a broken arrow, and how does it affect a nation’s security? These are among the questions that will be investigated further in this essay. Is terrorism a potential risk factor for both an increase in broken arrow disasters, alongside major casualties, and threats if such weapons were to be in the hands of such irrational individuals. We will identify numerous case studies that could potentially have resulted in negative outcome, as well as what caused these particular problems to occur. These include where the safeguarding procedures caused critical errors, and how they were unable to evade its results. lastly a topic of discussion would be the thoughts of other on the subject of nuclear weapons?

This subject piqued my interest during my first years of secondary school, I had taken history but never successfully completed it to GCSE remembering clearly, I had briefly brushed upon this topic of studying the case study of Hiroshima, and when in my final year of GCSE, my physics teacher had once again discussed the topic of radiation and mass industrialised nuclear weapons. So, when given the opportunity to discuss the topic further, I leaped at the chance.

The aim of this study was to look at alternative ways that nuclear weapons provided protection while also posing risks. The objective of this report was to introduce vital information about nuclear weapons’ past, to help the population understand the various aspects that these weapons offer. While I assume an opinion on this vast topic, the public may make their own assumptions and conclusions based on evidence provided. The essay’s conclusion was that, despite popular belief that these weapons have been used several times before, only two have been used in history, as effort to inflict damage on a third party as a means of achieving war objectives. All other uses of these weapons were either an accidental triggering of these weapons resulting in detonation, or test runs to ensure that the machines were functioning efficiently. As a result, the nature of these weapons is complicated, as one may argue, why are they being created if they aren’t in use, and are they actually mitigating risks or producing more?

Introduction

On multiple occasions, nuclear weapons have demonstrated to be deadly, possessing unprecedented destructive ability. There have been occurrences when mistakes were made, necessitating the creation of several laws, one of which is the humanitarian law (which protects civilians and combatants during and after armed conflict). According to IHL, weapons that cause unnecessary damage to people should not be used. This is especially true with nuclear weapons, which do not threaten a specific race but rather harms those surrounding them (cause massive, indiscriminate damage). (International Law and Nuclear Weapons Learn About Nuclear Weapons, 2020). These governmental laws imply that nuclear weapons should not be handled as they harm civilian lives therefore during a war they are seen as unacceptable as they causes catastrophic, fatal results with no morally ethical sympathy for its damages.

North Korea and its research reactor, which exploded five nuclear devices due to its failure to fulfil NPT obligations, is one of the case studies that will be further discussed in this study. Iraq tried to enrich indigenous uranium to military-grade content in 1991, in breach of the NPT and safeguards obligations; this means that they have nuclear weapons capability, therefore enhancing the theory of if Iraq can create such weapons so can extremists.

Both case studies indicate that certain safeguarding initiatives aren’t worth having as nuclear weapons can still be activated even when agreements have been made and therefore pose as potential danger, regardless of the deterrents. This is generally due to political leaders seeking control and refusing to adhere to the law when in conflict with other countries.

Extra

However, with all this power comes responsibility: are we to rely on a button to ensure our safety and lives when many of us don’t even trust ourselves to do so? The mass manufacturing industry may have been brought to a halt, but many people continue to operate in the shadows. Deterrence is the action of discouraging an action or event through instilling doubt or fear of the consequences. (deterrence noun – Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com, 2021) This theory is used in association with nuclear weapons to deter attacks by promising retaliation. Deterrence has a significant flaw in that it cannot avoid attacks caused by mistake or miscalculation, as well as attacks perpetrated by terrorists or offenders who are unfazed by death. We can see this as Code, Broken arrow is a form of communication used to report the indication an accidental nuclear weapon launch, theft, or detonation. It is said to have been used 32 times since 1950. This suggests that global risks may arise as a result of human error. Consequently, it influences everyone’s livelihood on the planet.

According to current reports, Russia has the most nuclear warheads in the world, with 6500 warheads and 1600 of those deployed. With 6,185 nuclear warheads and 1,750 of them deployed, the United States is second on the list. France follows with 300 nuclear warheads, 280 of which have been deployed, and the United Kingdom follows with 200 nuclear warheads, 120 of which have been deployed.

All these facts and figures point to one thing: why are there so many bombs? Since the end of World War II, no other bombs have been launched, which makes us question why keep producing. Only two nuclear weapons, a little boy and a fat man, have ever been launched. Even though countries spend a fortune on these industrialised weapons, only a small number of nuclear weapons are on standby. Because very few of the weapons are currently in operation, and countries have signed agreements, it’s likely that others aren’t able to invoke the right to use them, meaning there’s little need to keep manufacturing them. Therefore, nations can better spend money toward better facilities such as health provisions and education. The term ‘deploy’ implies that nuclear weapons are ready to use and strike a specific target. We’ve seen statistics that indicate a large number of bombs have been detonated; the figures show that 2,056 nuclear tests have taken place across hundreds of test sites, but only two were conducted on civilians, so why the need for such a large number of tests… Testing should be done to better understand how weapons would respond in various situations, as well as to test the structure and equipment, and provide an information bases if they were to be used in a real war scenario. Many people, however, believe these weapons are political moves of demonstrating power.

The weapons we have today had a beginning, somewhere where they were made, discovered, and understood, and from 1789 to 1939, major advances in fission energy occurred, as did the philosophy surrounding these weapons. On July 1941, 2 reports were written discussing the use of the uranium as a source for creating bombs and a Source of Power’. The idea of using uranium to release vast quantities of radioactive substances (making explosion site toxic to humans for long periods) arose from the belief that the Germans were developing a weapon to aid in WWII.

Case study

The father, Robert Oppenheimer, was the inventor of nuclear weapons, and on July 16, 1945, in Alamogordo, New Mexico, he successfully detonated the first atomic bomb, known as the Trinity Test. President Truman, had approved the use of atomic bombs to stop the Second World War and achieve a surrender from Japan. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by the second bomb on Nagasaki just three days later. Following this, the Japanese government surrendered the day after. Subsequently, a programme known as The Manhattan Project was created, the US government programme developedbuilt the first atomic bombs.Now, I am Death, the destroyer of worlds, Oppenheimer recites from the Hinduism’s Bhagavad Gita. Which indicates that after the bombing on Hiroshima, he felt responsible regretful for the casualties caused by his invention. Therefore, the security nuclear weapons provide does not justify the unethical and immoral events that happened.

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