UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 28 November 2007 -- Concerns about the perils posed by nuclear weapons have focused primarily on the spread of the bomb—to North Korea, Pakistan, India, and perhaps Iran—and on the terrifying prospect that Al Qaeda might acquire such weapons. 

Nuclear dangers, however, are not only "out there," they also exist in the policies of the United States and Russia, which continue to maintain thousands of nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert. 

Russia has abandoned its "no-first-use" policy and is replacing aging Cold War weapons systems. 

The Bush administration has called for the possible use of nuclear weapons against governments and nonstate actors seeking to develop mass destruction capability, and intends to build new nuclear weapons and production facilities, although Congress has been reluctant to fund new weapons development.

Elsewhere, glimmers of hope for a denuclearized future have also recently appeared. Under international inspection, North Korea shut down its plutonium production facilities in July 2007. 

Perhaps the most remarkable sign of hope emerged in January 2007 when former senior US policymakers—Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, Senator Sam Nunn, and Secretary of Defense William Perry—issued a statement calling for "a world free of nuclear weapons." 

This bipartisan effort gave unprecedented legitimacy to the goal of nuclear disarmament and laid the foundation for a new national and international debate on steps to reduce nuclear dangers.

A policy analysis by David Cortright, commissioned by the Stanley Foundation, is a contribution to that debate, examining the nuclear danger and probing the sources of instability that are driving proliferation and continued reliance on nuclear weapons. 

It reviews the recent use of diplomacy to resolve proliferation disputes and explores the link between regional and global disarmament. 

It traces the evolving political legitimacy and technical feasibility of nuclear weapons abolition, and concludes with suggestions to realize a future free of nuclear weapons through enhanced security and initiatives to reduce international tensions.

Policy Recommendations

• The US government should investigate and consider the "urgent steps" outlined in the statement "A World Free of Nuclear Weapons" by Shultz, Kissinger, Nunn, and Perry.

• Reframe nuclear "disarmament" as "prohibition," acknowledging that rogue actors might seek to "break out" and redevelop nuclear weapons. Such a prohibition would, within a multilateral context, outlaw the possession and use of nuclear weapons and signify the determination of nations to rely on other means for achieving security.

• Seek opportunities for stalemate-breaking unilateral initiatives and the reciprocity they engender, following the example of President George H. W. Bush in September 1991.

• End nuclear modernization programs, leading the global community by example, and engage Russia in further nuclear weapons reductions.

Read the full policy analysis here>>>.