preview

The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Testing

Decent Essays

For decades, states seeking to limit nuclear weapons have called for a CTBT in the conviction that a comprehensive test ban would foreclose the ability to develop new and more powerful types of nuclear arms and would be an important stepping stone to the objective of ultimately eliminating all nuclear weapons. Historically, the nuclear powers have depended on nuclear testing to develop new types of nuclear weapons and to a far lesser extent, to confirm the reliability of their arsenals. The United States and other countries concerned about nuclear proliferation also have supported a CTBT as a means for slowing the spread of advanced nuclear weapon capabilities to additional countries. They have argued that although a state seeking to develop nuclear weapons may not need to conduct a test to build a simple fission bomb, such tests would be necessary to develop more complex and powerful thermonuclear weapons. Some argue that testing would also be necessary for a new nuclear state to develop small warheads for ballistic or cruise missiles. …show more content…

Nonetheless, important limits on nuclear testing were adopted during the 46-year hiatus between Nehru’s initiative and the conclusion of a CTBT in 1996. Negotiations between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union were first started in 1958 following Premier Khrushchev’s announcement of a unilateral test ban and President Eisenhower’s subsequent proposal for test-ban negotiations. Efforts receded in the wake of the May 1960 U-2 incident in which a U.S. reconnaissance plane was shot down over the USSR leading to the souring of U.S.-Soviet

Get Access