Pakistan and Nuclear Deterrence

In today's issue of the Wall Street Journal in the opinion section of the front page, an editorial discussed the implications of a nuclear Pakistan and the possibility of buying its nuclear weapons from it. The idea is comes from the fact that Pakistan needs financial capital desperately, and in return for buying their nuclear weapons, the U.S. would provide a nuclear shield in Pakistan and give them tanks and jet fighters. That idea raises several questions, if this purchase actually came to fruition, could it serve as an example to other nuclear armed nations around the world such as India and some European nations, and what are the possible ramifications of a nuclear non-proliferation that excludes the super-powers like the U.S., Russia, China, and Western Europe? In answer to the first, a nuclear arms treaty would only work in nations that are trustworthy that would respond to economic sanctions. This description would exclude nations such as Iran, Syria, and North Korea. These nations, with the backing of Russia and China, have been able to side-step the brunt of the U.S.-led sanctions. Some nations that would take notice of a nuclear purchase would include India and maybe Israel. A disarmament between Pakistan and India would invariably decrease the odds of a nuclear war happening anywhere on the globe. The answer to the second question is that the world would become a much safer environment in which to engage other nations diplomatically. A guarantee of an American nuclear shield would become an enormous deterrent to any hostile nation. A nuclear shield would not stop conventional warfare, but merely act as a safe-guard against nuclear attacks by the opposing state. However, for the nuclear shield to be completely effective, the U.S.'s nuclear arsenal must be modernized. The last nuclear weapon to be commissioned was back in the 80's at the height of the Cold War. Nuclear weapons can only be a proper deterrent if they are reliable and safe to handle. Efforts by the Bush administration to modernize our arsenal were stymied in the Democratic Congress of the past two years, and with the Obama administration coming into power in a little over a month, the hopes of a modern nuclear arsenal are slim.

The time to act is now, while tensions in the hot spots of the world, namely between Pakistan and India, are not escalated to the breaking point. The Obama administration should take note of these options of nuclear purchasing and nuclear modernization. I paraphrase the words of Vice-President elect Joe Biden, the U.S. will be tested within the first six months of an Obama administration. Other nations do not know what Obama's breaking point is and will test him to discover how far he will go to deter a conflict. In short, the nuclear future of this nation rests on the shoulders of the new government. How it chooses to handle this issue will be telling of how it will handle foreign policy over the next four years.