Introduction The emergence of nuclear weapons was brought about by distrust amongst states, following progress in nuclear research into uranium fission. Fearing that Germany would create a nuclear weapon first, the United States employed vast resources into nuclear research and developing the first nuclear weapon. The Soviet Union followed by testing its first atomic bomb in 1949, thereby beginning a nuclear arms race amongst countries that continues to the present day. The official nuclear countries, Russia, France, United States, United Kingdom and China have shown no plans of giving up their nuclear weapons, fueling proliferation by non-nuclear states. Although numerous non-nuclear countries have sought nuclear weapons, few are known to have succeeded. Those with nuclear weapons programs include India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan. There are fears that other countries such as Iran, South Korea, Taiwan, Syria, as well as Libya may be actively seeking nuclear weapons, or may decide to do so in the future. Reasons for seeking nuclear weapons vary from country to country, but the key reason remains national security. Other countries are driven by the need for prestige associated with owning nuclear weapons. In volatile regions such as the Middle East, countries seeking nuclear weapons are mainly driven by the need to balance power with neighboring countries, in order to avoid attacks. The search for nuclear weapons is often shrouded in secrecy, therefore making it difficult to know just how many countries are doing so. Some countries such as South Africa and Iraq have ended their nuclear programs, but even this was done in a veil of secrecy that makes it difficult to determine an inventory of nuclear weapons in the wor... ... middle of paper ... ...les for nuclear weapon development. Global Affairs. Issue 16, August 2009 David Krieger, Why Nations Go Nuclear, (2005) Article available from: www.wagingpeace.org Daniel A. Pinkston , North Korean Motivations for Developing Nuclear Weapons Ian Bellany, Coit D. Blacker, Joseph Gallacher, The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty,(Routledge Publishers, 1985) Jonathan Dean, "The Final Stage of Nuclear Arms Control," The Washington Quarterly, Vol 17, No 4, pp. 31-52 Joseph Cirincione, Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons( New York: Columbia University Press, 2008) Samuel P. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs, Vol 72, No 3, Summer 1993, pp. 22-49 Scott D. Sagan, Why Do States Build Nuclear Weapons?: Three Models in Search of a Bomb International Security, Vol. 21, No. 3. (1996-1997), pp. 54-86.
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In 1945, the USA was the only country in the world that had the nuclear weapons. But in the 1949 USSR started to learn about their nuclear weapons. In further developments forced the USSR was soon created by nuclear, and then thermonuclear weapons. Isaacs J, 2008: Fight has become very dangerous for all.
In 1945, America terrified the world by using the Atom Bomb in Hiroshima and later in Nagasaki. This fear of the most powerful weapon ever created started a cold war between America and Russia. These two great nations had started the race for the super bomb, which would have each country trying to out do the other for decades to come.
When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.
August 5, 1945. A day that the entire world will remember, as it was the day that the first of two nuclear strikes against Japan ended World War Two. Although at the time “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” were the lesser of two evils, they started an arms race like the world has never seen. The Soviet Union, America, Great Britain, France, and later China, all started to produce nuclear weapons. The arsenals of these countries would soon number in the tens of thousands. Recently there have been pushes to rid the world of these weapons that can kill an entire city with a single push of a button. Although these weapons are in the eyes of several governments a necessary tool to have, the public, however, disagrees. The Americans in particular have been debating the issue for several years. But for America to still pose a threat to other countries, the nuclear arsenal of the United States of America should not be completely depleted but upgraded and decreased to where our enemies still fear us. But we have to make sure that we do not break the bank in the process.
9. Several nations currently house nuclear weapons. What could be the consequences of harboring such weapons? Should countries be allowed to possess nuclear
The U.S. decided to develop the atomic bomb based on the fear they had for the safety of the nation. In August 1939 nuclear physicists sent manuscripts to Albert Einstein in fear the Germany might use the new knowledge of fission on the uranium nucleus as way to construct weapons. In response, on August 2, 1939, Einstein sent a letter to President Roosevelt concerning the pressing matter to use uranium to create such weapons before Germany (Doc A-1). To support the development of the atomic bomb, President Roosevelt approved the production of the bomb following the receipt that the bomb is feasible on January 19, 1942. From this day to December of 1942, many laboratories and ...
The arrival of nuclear weapons transformed the international playing field permanently and new threats such as non-state actors have immerged as a result. Initially, only superpowers with nuclear arsenals had a global role as was evident during the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviet Union, but nuclear proliferation triggered a race to possess this power in the last 60 years.
Many nations have tested nuclear devices, in the atmosphere, under the earth, and under the oceans. Only the United States of America, Russia, Great Britain, France, and China openly admit to possessing these nuclear weapons. Many other nations, however, are thought to have the capability to assemble these items quickly.
When the United States caught word that Germany was close to creating the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists wanted to create it first, for the U.S. After three years of research, the first small atomic device was exploded on July 16, 1945 in the lab at Los Alamos. Having proved their concept worked, a larger scale bomb was built. Less than a month later, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan (Rosenberg).
The Nuclear Arms Race broke out in 1945 when World War two ended. It was between the United States and the Soviet Union. It came to an end in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke apart (Swift, 2009, Element of the cold war, para 1). The Nuclear Arms Race was a key factor in the Cold War. It was the first time people thought the world might end (Swift, 2009, Element of the cold war, para 1). The Nuclear Arms Race impacted the Cold War a lot. It impacted the Cold War by getting new technology, it led to the space race, and caused higher security measures.
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.
Since its origin in 1948, North Korea has been isolated and heavily armed, with hostile relations with South Korea and Western countries. It has developed a capability to produce short- and medium-range missiles, chemical weapons, and possibly biological and nuclear weapons. In December 2002, Pyongyang lifted the freeze on its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program and expelled IAEA inspectors who had been monitoring the freeze under the Agreed Framework of October 1994. As the Bush administration was arguing its case at the United Nations for disarming Iraq, the world has been hit with alarming news of a more menacing threat: North Korea has an advanced nuclear weapons program that, U.S. officials believe, has already produced one or two nuclear bombs. As the most recent standoff with North Korea over nuclear missile-testing approaches the decompression point, the United States needs to own up to a central truth: The region of Northeast Asia will never be fully secure until the communist dictatorship of North Korea passes from the scene. After threatening to test a new, long-range missile, Pyongyang says it is willing to negotiate with "the hostile nations" opposing it. But whether the North will actually forgo its test launch is anyone's guess. North Korea first became embroiled with nuclear politics during the Korean War. Although nuclear weapons were never used in Korea, American political leaders and military commanders threatened to use nuclear weapons to end the Korean War on terms favorable to the United States. In 1958, the United States deployed nuclear weapons to South Korea for the first time, and the weapons remained there until President George Bush ordered their withdrawal in 1991. North Korean government stateme...
In 1945, when the Americans bombed Hiroshima, Japan, approximately 140,000 men and women were instantly killed by the effects of American nuclear defense. With such extreme brutality and force how many people must die for one to finally realize the strengths of nuclear bombs and what damage they can cause. Nuclear weapons should be outlawed because they kill thousands of innocent humans at a time, destroy the environment, and inviolate human’s right to moral and personal freedoms.