Interesting way to phrase it, isn't it? Did you catch that? The "trigger" to this possible arms race is the nuclear test by North Korea. There's no doubt that such an event will play into the larger framework of a regional arms race, but was this a spontaneous event? Or did it to have causes?

Perhaps we should have taken the non-proliferation treaty more seriously. Signed in 1970 by the then five existing nuclear powers--U.S., France, China, Great Brittian, and the U.S.S.R.--agreed to "reduce and eventually eliminate their nuclear arsenals." Scott Galindez sums it up well in an article for TruthOut:

Now, 36 years later, no disarmament talks are taking place between those countries. North Korea has been a "threshold" country since the late 80s. The fall of the Soviet Union eliminated shared security arrangements and prompted North Korea to aggressively pursue a nuclear weapon.

In those 36 years the list of nuclear powers has nearly doubled to nine: U.S., China, France, Great Brittian, Russia, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. As the most powerful nation on earth, we should be the example the rest of the world looks to. Instead we disregard treaty obligations and point a hypocritical finger at those countries who no longer agree to the arbirary rules imposed on them.

Reversing a decade of restraint in nuclear weapons policy, Congress agreed to provide more than $6 billion for research, expansion and upgrades in the country's nuclear capabilities. While Congress approved large sums to maintain the existing nuclear arsenal even during the Clinton years, this year's increases will finance multiyear programs to design a new generation of warheads as well as more sophisticated missiles, bombers and re-entry vehicles to deliver them.

The Bush administration has not only ignored our treaty obligations under the non-proligeration treaty, he has actively sought to undermine the treaty's credibility. The first big chink in this armor was our nuclear posture review of 2002 which changed our nuclear policy. We now reserve the right to use nuclear force as a first strike capabilityeven against non-nuclear parties!

We have went on to revitilize our nuclear weapons program, hoping to develop more "useable" nuclear weapons, i.e., tactical nuclear weapons. For those not keeping track, in 2003:

Congress, with only a limited debate, has given the Bush administration a green light for the biggest revitalization of the country's nuclear weapons program since the end of the Cold War, leaving many Democrats and even some hawkish Republicans seething.

So let's try and keep track to possible triggers to this arms race. For over 30 years we all but ignore our treaty obligations under the non-proliferation treaty and even help other nations attain nuclear weaponry. In January 2002 our president--commander in chief of the most powerful millitary on the planet--refers to North Korea, Iraq, and Iran as an axis of evil. That same year we change our nuclear posture to reserve the right to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear parties. By 2003 we're not only invading a practically defenseless Iraq but we're also spending billions to revitalize our nuclear weaponry.

Let's remember that it is a mistake to claim, as often is, that the United States has only used its nuclear weapons twice against Japan in World War II. It is true it's the only time we detonated them in an act of war, but we have continued to use them in the decades since. We threatened North Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and a host of other places around the globe: the ultimate definition of terrorism.

If that's hard for you to understand, consider the bank robber who brandishes a weapons but never fires it. Whether the weapon was fired or not is moot. The threat of possibly using that deadly weapon was enough to coerce the people to act on his wishes. Like the bank robber who brandishes but rarely has to shoot, we threaten the world with our vast nuclear and millitary arsenal.

None of this makes it good that North Korea has nuclear weapons. Any sane person would agree that our goal should be to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons from our planet. If we're serious about this goal, it behooves us to understand the role our nation plays in the proliferation of nuclear weapons. As the most powerful nation on earth we could go a long way towards disarming the world, not through violence, but through diplomacy and example.

Tags: hypocrisy, non proliferation, north korea, nuclear weapons, proliferation, terrorism, united states