Nuclear weapons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nuclear weapons - Essay Example This is addition to looking at the consequences of having such weapons on the world in terms of economic and social implications. Morality, Prudence, and Nuclear Weapons states clearly that nuclear weapons are used for their traditional role in the pursuit of national security, where even their deployment is for the same purpose (Lee 1996, p.2). This brings out the question of moral authority over why they own them, as without these weapons there can still be peace and security in any given country including those that possess these weapons. As such, the justification for the possession of the weapons does not lie with the efficiency of military power or even national security, in which case the implications are that provided those in military leadership find the possession and use acceptable, then they should be kept. It is as a result of this that countries own these weapons of mass destruction to achieve their own ends, and these ends are not necessarily the ends of every citizen whom they lead because the weapons are the disposal of the military, at the command of the president and even military leaders (Paret 1986, p.762). In addition to this, there is the potential that these weapons are owned by some nations for the sole purpose of intimidation so as to protect overseas interests and assists as said by Caldicott (2004, p.73). In this case, he argues that there is no way that any country or military power would use nuclear weapons against its own citizens, and then he goes on to state that some countries have enormous oversees interests. As a result, the legitimacy for having these nuclear weapons is to protect the country from any external acts of aggression by other nations, just as the tradition of war goes. Besides this, the argument of having a peaceful world that is free of threats to national insecurity is a new justification to the possession of nuclear weapons owing to the presentation of new information in makers of new strategy. In this case, i t is said that all wars since the inception of the nuclear weapons have been irrational and impossible due to the possibility of destroying the enemy finally (Lee 1996, p.12). From this perspective, justification is that nuclear weapons make the world a safe place by use of the theory of nuclear deterrence, where no nation dares wage war due to the possibility of obviation in the event of nuclear warfare. Therefore, war becomes outdated considering the nuclear arsenal available to the world in modern times and the countries that hold this arsenal are the ones that control the eventuality of war and ensure that the world is protected from itself and international feuds likely to explode into full-blown wars. In addition, there is the question of power, which can be brought up in reply to why some nations own nuclear weapons, which can directly point towards abuse. With this, nuclear power amongst the countries in possession of these arms is indicative of how they keep the world in ch eck concerning the improved tactics of warfare across the world that are not restricted to guerrilla warfare, but go as far as air strikes with enhanced accuracy. This is especially so in modern times and based on recent events and history that goes as far back as the 1950s to show what possession of nuclear weapons has saved the world from destroying itself. Looking again at the abuse of power, the cold war can be used to show the consequences of having nuclear arms, and this does not paint a good picture at all for the world as a whole. In spite of claiming that nuclear weapons ring stability to the world, they also focus power on a few nations that then get into conflict as shown in the cold war of the 1980s. Consequently, the justification of nuclear wea