08 March 2000
(Op-ed column, by Ambassador Norman A. Wulf, cites NPT benefits) (1360) [The following op-ed column is in the public domain, with no republication restrictions. The author should be identified as Ambassador Norman A. Wulf, special representative to the president for nuclear nonproliferation.] [Note: In the text, billion = thousand million.] (begin text of op-ed column) Next month marks the first major worldwide gathering of nuclear nonproliferation experts in the new millennium. Representatives from virtually every country will meet in New York to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) -- a 30-year-old international agreement with 187 parties. The NPT is nearly universal, with only Cuba, India, Israel and Pakistan outside the treaty. The United States will be actively engaged in this review and looks forward to a full debate, including highlighting the many impressive achievements of this vital treaty. The NPT is one of the great success stories of nuclear arms control. It has made major contributions to global security and economic well-being over the past three decades. The NPT: -- is an indispensable tool in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons; -- provides an essential foundation for the reduction of existing nuclear arsenals and for continued progress toward nuclear disarmament; and -- promotes the peaceful uses of the atom for the generation of electricity and for the many applications in medicine, industry, agriculture and other areas. Direct Security Benefits There is a strong international consensus that the further spread of nuclear weapons would endanger the security of all countries, and threaten global and regional stability. The NPT and near-universal support for nuclear non-proliferation are the primary reasons why nuclear weapons have not spread as fast as many had predicted in the 1960s. The security benefitsof the NPT are evident in every region of the world. South Africa's decision to abandon its nuclear weapons program and accede to the NPT in 1991 enhanced the security of all African states and led to the negotiation of a treaty to make Africa a continent free from nuclear weapons. The NPT provided stability in the midst of the great political and economic changes that occurred in Europe and Central Asia over the past decade. All the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union returned nuclear weapons deployed on their territories to Russia and joined the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon states. There have been challenges to the NPT. The international community has responded strongly to violations of the NPT by Iraq and North Korea. The NPT is a critical tool in continued efforts to restrain the nuclear programs of both countries. Nuclear proliferation in South Asia poses a continuing challenge. But the reaction to nuclear tests by India and Pakistan also reinforced the NPT as nations around the world condemned these actions and reaffirmed the critical importance of the treaty. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the primary mechanism for verifying that NPT parties are living up to their obligations. IAEA safeguards under the treaty, including international inspections, help to deter the use of nuclear material for nuclear weapons. The model safeguards protocol approved in 1997 gives the IAEA an even stronger tool for this purpose. Nuclear Arms Control and Reductions The NPT limits nuclear-weapon states to those existing in 1968: United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and China. Article VI of the NPT calls on all parties to take effective measures relating to nuclear disarmament and to work towards the objective of general and complete disarmament. The NPT's role in checking nuclear proliferation is critical in creating a climate in which major reductions in nuclear arsenals can be pursued. A vast array of actions has been taken that meet the objectives of Article VI. The U.S.-Russian nuclear arms race is over. Both countries are seeking further reductions in nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, and taking other steps to reduce their nuclear-weapon infrastructures. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States has dismantled approximately 13,000 nuclear warheads and bombs. We have reduced our stockpile of strategic nuclear weapons by 80 percent. We have taken our heavy bombers off alert and our strategic forces are not targeted on any country. NATO has reduced the number of nuclear weapons for its sub-strategic forces in Europe by over 85 percent and the reaction time of the remaining dual-capable aircraft is now measured in weeks rather than minutes. NATO nuclear forces are not targeted on any country. Dismantlement of strategic ballistic missile launchers and heavy bombers under the Start I agreement is ahead of schedule. There is increasing hope that the Russian Duma will soon ratify Start II. Meanwhile, discussions on Start III are occurring. When successful, the cumulative effect of the three Start agreements would be an 80 percent reduction in the number of deployed strategic warheads since the end of the Cold War. We have spent 3.2 billion dollars to help Russia and others to eliminate over 500 missiles and bombers, to ensure that nuclear materials are safe and secure, and to promote other arms control and non-proliferation objectives. We are also working with them to place excess fissile material under international monitoring and to irreversibly transform excess fissile material into forms unusable for nuclear weapons. The United States has removed 226 tons of fissile material from its military stockpile, and in 1992 announced a halt in the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. The United States took the lead in negotiating the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and President Clinton was the first to sign the treaty in 1996. The United States has not conducted nuclear test explosions since 1992. President Clinton has made it clear that the United States will continue this moratorium and encourage others to do likewise. President Clinton has called for a constructive bipartisan dialogue with the U.S. Congress this year to lay the groundwork for eventual U.S. ratification of the CTBT. We have formed a senior-level governmental task force and enlisted former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General John Shalikashvili to help us build bipartisan support for ratification. Some have criticized U.S. policy on national missile defense (NMD) as undermining arms control. It does not. The ABM treaty could be amended to allow for a limited NMD capability while preserving strategic stability and permitting continued reductions in nuclear forces. The treaty has been amended before. President Clinton is expected to make a decision this summer, at the earliest, on whether to deploy a limited NMD system. He will take into account the threat, technical feasibility, affordability, and national security factors, including arms control and the views of U.S. allies. Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation The NPT creates a vital framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation among nations by providing assurances that non-nuclear-weapon state parties will not use their nuclear programs to acquire nuclear weapons. The United States engages in substantial peaceful nuclear cooperation with NPT parties. U.S. assistance through the IAEA benefits many developing countries. Among these projects are nuclear applications in the fields of water resources, nutrition, agriculture, and human health. Under bilateral agreements, the United States exports millions of dollars of fuel and nuclear equipment to many countries with reactors producing electricity. Conclusion It is important that the 2000 NPT Review Conference in New York reaffirm the treaty as an essential part of the international security system. Preparations have been underway for several years, and we expect vigorous debate and differences of view on key issues, including on approaches to nuclear disarmament. We are working with many other NPT parties to have a constructive and balanced conference, marked by a healthy dose of realism about what the NPT review process can achieve. By rededicating ourselves to the NPT, we can ensure that this treaty will continue to play a vital role in the new millennium. (end text of op-ed column) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)|||||||