Zooming Into Us Nuclear Weapons Program Case Study

Two main theorists of international relations, Kenneth Waltz and Scott Sagan have been debating on the issue of nuclear weapons and the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the 21st century. In their book The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate, they both discuss their various theories, assumptions and beliefs on nuclear proliferation and nuclear weapons. To examine why states would want to attain/develop a nuclear weapon and if increasing nuclear states is a good or bad thing. In my paper, I will discuss both of their theories and use a case study to illustrate which theory I agree with and then come up with possible solutions of preventing a nuclear war from occurring.

Since the invention of nuclear weapons, they have presented the world with a significant danger, one that was shown in reality during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, nuclear weapons have not only served in combat, but they have also played a role in keeping the world peaceful by the concept of deterrence. The usage of nuclear weapons would lead to mutual destruction and during the Cold War, nuclear weapons were necessary to maintain international security, as a means of deterrence. However, by the end of the Cold War, reliance on nuclear weapons for maintaining peace became increasingly difficult and less effective (Shultz, et. al, 2007). The development of technology has also provided increasing opportunities for states

In the past America has been a dominant superpower in the field of military strength, but for the last few decades, our military has encountered abounding liquidations and sequestrations, which lead to huge budget cuts. Nevertheless, America has faced many politicians planning to cut down on our military by virtue of it is simply cost effective. The Clinton Foundation has been cutting our military for countless years. Also, under the Obama Administration has been enacting laws comparable to the Budget Control Act or (BCA) which has been siphoning our military for the past 8 years. For countless years, defense officials remain silent due to the Obama Administration, vaguely America could keep its budget under control. Consequently, all four

The United States is currently spending $35 Billion a year; which is 14% of the defense budget, or it is $96 million a day, because of the nuclear efforts of which about $25 million goes for operation and maintenance for the nuclear arsenal. The rest of the money is spent on cleanup, arms control verification, and ballistic missile research, which all of that, just adds to the cost greatly. President Obama revealed a budget that includes more than $220 million in cuts for nuclear security programs in the next fiscal year. One of the largest reductions is going to come to the International Material Protection and Cooperation program, and which it works to secure and eliminate the vulnerable nuclear weapons and materials. President Obama

Nuclear weapons pose a direct and constant threat to people. Not even close from keeping the peace, they breed fear and mistrust among nations. These ultimate instruments

Our nation’s nuclear weapons are very complex and large organization system. The main responsibility falls on the executive branch of the government. There are multiple departments within the executive branch that handle this. They are the Departments of Defense, Energy, Commerce, State, and Homeland Security.

If in the name of National security the government keeps so many documents and departments classified that no citizen can discern what their government is doing, they lose the oversight of the citizens, and as a result will be more prone to corruption or poor decisions. This can be seen for example, in the United States government’s use of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6. Highly secretive, SEAL Team 6 has been used for classified missions in foreign nations increasingly over the past decade, with little to no outside oversight. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) investigates reports of misconduct, but JSOC is also the organization that supervises the team’s missions (Mazzetti 3). While this lack of supervision does not mean that SEAL Team 6 is an inherently corrupt organization, it is an example of how the government can so easily fall into

The article, “Race to the Future. How America’s missile defense initiative blossomed into an international coalition,” was featured in The American Legion, a center-right publication, in August of 2015. The author of the piece is Alan Dowd. Dowd is a frequent author and head of the Center for America’s Purpose, a center-right organization. Regarding the critical eye, the article is accurate with a few pieces of misleading information. Throughout the article numerous solutions are presented and a discussion of different points of view is presented. Although the article is in favor of a national missile defense system, the author remains objective throughout the piece, and a large quantity of background information is provided, which helps the reader come to their own conclusions about a national missile defense.

The United States nuclear weapons complex is complicated and very large. Because of this, there are certain government agencies that help to regulate, or control, the nuclear weapons. Those agencies that have a role regarding the nation’s nuclear weapons are the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Commerce, Homeland Security, Department of State (DOS), and most importantly, the Department of Defense (DOD) (whitehouse.gov).

Since then, President Bush is still criticized for having used inadequately important assets under his control, especially in terms of security. So, the main weakness of the Bush administration is based on the failure to synchronize the efforts of the National Security Council (NSC) bodies with the rest of his government. For instance, lack of interagency coordination between intelligence agencies disregarded reports about the imminent airborne attack on U.S. soil. Similarly, the absence of evidence about Iraq's possession of WMDs exposed the failures of the interaction between the NSC and decision-makers at the highest level of the government. Nelson and Perry (2014) assert that the “National Security Council was dysfunctional”.

Can the nation afford what it’s spending on funding the U.S. military? On defense and international security was spent about $718 billion by the U.S. government in 2011 (Plumer). The U.S. is now spending more money than at any time with a defense budget exceeding $700 billion (Erwin). Defense amounts to 4.8 percent as a share of the U.S. economy (Erwin). Innumerable amounts of money are being funded to the U.S. military because it has spent more on defense than any other place, has a big land area used by U.S. bases and facilities, and 70 percent of the budget goes to defense contractors alone.

It is true that a lot of funds designated for F-35 use are being spent on the F-35 program but it is not clear that these funds are not being wasted due to the lack of program accountability. Program accountability mainly focuses on gauging how well a program is meeting its goals (Kettl, 15). According GAO reports and news articles, the F-35 program is (and has been) struggling to meet its objectives so it is difficult to justify the continuous funneling of taxpayer dollars into this

BIG BOMBS AND BIG EGOS: THE DRIVING FORCES FOR THE CREATION OF A PRIVATIZED NUCLEAR INDUSTRY IN AMERICA

(United States DOD, Department of Defense). It is moral and ethical for the concerns of

The North Korean government continues to financially fund the research and testing of nuclear and ballistic missiles. Little information is known about the North Korean nuclear program and has been made available to foreign nations due to the secrecy and isolation of international affairs. The threat of a nuclear strike from North Korea has become an increasingly serious matter for many nations including the U.S. and its Asian allies, Japan and South Korea. Currently, there are only nine nations known by intelligent analysis that possesses the resources to manufacture nuclear weapons which do include the U.S. However, North Korea is the only nation in the 21st century to conduct a nuclear missile test that has been reported by North Korean