The Danger of Nuclear Weapons versus the Necessity of Nuclear Weapons

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Nuclear weapons continue to present a real threat to humanity and other life on Earth. Scholars of international relations and policymakers share in the belief that the sheer power and destructiveness of nuclear weapons prevent them from being used by friends and foes alike. Then the real question becomes; what is the need for nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons are defined as, volatile device that originates its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release massive amounts of energy from fairly small amounts of matter. Nuclear weapons have greatly changed the way war is fought. Along with these more dominant weapons come ways to control and countermeasure such power. Nuclear weapons have changed the way the world thinks about war. The development of nuclear weapons started rather innocently as a physical wonder but has become a basis of constant fear among many nations. It is understandable how some countries believe that it is necessary to continue with nuclear proliferation. Basing the security of one’s country on the threat of killing tons of millions of innocent people perhaps billions, and risking the destruction of civilization. This reliance has no moral justification and deserves the strongest condemnation. Nuclear proliferation is the distribution of nuclear weapons, nuclear technology and information to states not acknowledged as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In my opinion when a country develops nuclear weapons everything becomes heightened, the economy, military, and you could even say paranoia is also heighten .With this continuous endeavor for nuclear proliferation countries began to fall int... ... middle of paper ... ...is understandable the attraction that nuclear weapons for those seeking power for manipulation or blackmail. Terrorists may either seize an existing weapon which is extremely difficult to do. Or they could set up a facility to make one. Obtaining nuclear weapons by individuals or groups is doubtful because the materials are difficult to gain and to handle. Also military weapons and nuclear power plants and facilities are guarded heavily. It might not be necessary for terrorists to obtain a weapon. Instead, they could create immense fear and panic if they obtained the information on how to create these weapons. Between ten countries there are an estimated 17,134 nuclear warheads armed and ready to be launched on the whim of these countries. The United States alone has an estimated 7,650 warheads each with the strength of twenty times that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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