I'm referring to the event in 1945 when the United States had thrown a nuclear bomb on this Japanese city, and another on Nagasaki three days later, resulting in the death of at least 125,000 people. This event is thought by many historians (but not by all) to have been the main cause for Japan to surrender, a development important for the end of the second world war.
•the five countries already having nuclear weapons (the US, UK, France, China and Russia (then the USSR), the so-called nuclear states) committed not to pass on nuclear weapon material or technology to others, except for pacific purposes with the precaution of verification;
•that other states not pursue having this capability except for pacific purposes with the precaution of verification.
These ends can be seen to have failed, as other countries which didn't sign the NPT are today known to have nuclear weapons. India and Pakistan have developed these weapons, watching closely what each other is doing, North Korea with its belligerent policy seeks to publish its nuclear programme to be taken seriously on the international stage, and a citation must be made of Israel with its policy of deliberate ambiguity on this topic, which with huge hypocrisy of the nuclear powers has never been challenged on this subject as has been Iran recently.
The NPT also encourages total nuclear disarmament. Some progress has been made in this regard, with the signature of a new START treaty between the US and Russia in 2009, and a new initiative by President Obama's administration in 2013 which proposed to reduce the US and Russian arsenals by a third.
These are all positive steps, and more may be pursued, however I'm sceptical whether the world will ever reach the stage where nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. At the end of the day, even a single nuclear weapon has the potential of killing hundreds of thousands of people. The most powerful bomb ever exploded has been a Russian one, whose destructive capacity is three thousand times that of Hiroshima!
Will the US ever trust Russia completely to have destroyed all its nuclear weapons? The Russia that just invaded Crimea as if nothing had happened, and quickly jails its President's opponents? Or China, which quietly and without fanfare substantially increases its military expenditure year on year, and recently putting down its feet in waters contested by its Asian neighbours?
And will the latter countries trust the US, which killed its President half a century ago with a military precision attack without any responsibility having been attributed? That has invaded a country on fabricated intelligence, convincing other nations to do the same? That is considering changing a President so cautious militarily with one who seems to be firing cannon after another every time he opens his mouth on any subject?
Will India and Pakistan ever trust each other, with their wounds still raw from the million people who perished with the partition of old India, masterpiece of British rule, and with the small and rare gestures of friendship between the two countries disappearing with the first shots fired at Kashmir?
What can we say about North Korea, with its continuous and public boasting that it will destroy the United States?
And finally, to trust someone, you would expect openness and transparency. Who will trust Israel whose ambiguity in this space is its policy?
No, nuclear armaments are here to stay. Things can get better, but they can also get worse. Deterrence, which means you won't try to destroy me because I can do the same to you, will remain I'm sorry to say.
The only silver lining in this sorry story is the science fiction possibility that these arms might be used in future to defend the planet from impact of some asteroid that was threatening all living creatures. I admit to clutching at straws.
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Qed nirreferi għall-ġrajja storika tal-1945 fejn l-Istati Uniti kienet tefgħet bomba nukleari fuq din il-belt Ġappuniża, u oħra fuq Nagasaki tlett ijiem wara, li kienu nqerdu flimkien ma' mill-inqas 125,000 ruħ. Dan l-avveniment huwa maħsub minn bosta storiċi (imma mhux minn kulħadd) li kien ir-raġuna prinċipali li wassal lill-Ġappun biex iċedi, żvilupp importanti għat-tmiem tat-tieni gwerra dinjija.
•il-ħames pajjiżi li diġa kellhom armamenti nukleari (l-Istati Uniti, ir-Renju Unit, Franza, iċ-Ċina u r-Russja (dakinhar l-Unjoni Sovjetika), l-hekk imsejħa Stati Nukleari) jikkommettu li ma jgħaddux materjal jew it-teknoloġija ta' armamenti nukleari tagħhom lil ħaddieħor, ħlief għal skopijiet paċifiċi taħt prekawzjonijiet ta' verifika;
•li l-istati l-oħra ma jfittxux li jkollhom din il-kapaċità ħlief għal skopijiet paċifiċi taħt prekawzjonijiet ta' verifika.
Dawn l-iskopijiet jista' jingħad li fallew, għax pajjiżi oħra li ma ffirmawx il-NPT illum huma magħrufin li għandhom armamenti nukleari. L-Indja u l-Pakistan żviluppaw dawn b'seba' mitt għajn fuq xulxin, il-Korea ta' Fuq bil-politika belliġerenti tagħha tfittex li tippubblika l-programm nukleari tagħha biex tittieħed bis-serjetà fuq il-palk internazzjonali, u fl-aħħar trid tissemma l-Iżrael li għandha politika ta' ambigwità deliberata f'dan il-qasam, li b'ipokrezija kbira mill-potenzi nukleari l-kbar qatt ma ġiet sfidata fuq dan is-suġġett bħal ma ġiet sfidata l-Iran f'dan l-aħħar żmien.
L-NPT ukoll iħeġġeġ id-disarmament totali nukleari. Veru li sar xi progress, bl-iffirmar ta' trattat ġdid (START) bejn l-Istati Uniti u r-Russja fil-2009, u b-inizjattivi oħra bħal dik tal-amministrazzjoni tal-President Amerikan Obama li fil-2013 ipproponiet li tnaqqas l-ammont ta' armamenti nukleari Amerikani u Russi b'terz.
Dawn huma passi pożittivi, u jistgħu jitkomplew 'il quddiem, imma jien xettiku jekk qattx naslu għal sitwazzjoni fejn l-armamenti nukleari jinqerdu għal kollox. Fl-aħħar mill-aħħar, anke bomba nukleari waħda għandha l-potenzjal ta' qerda għal mijiet ta' eluf ta' nies. L-iktar bomba b'saħħitha li qatt ġiet sploduta kienet waħda Russa, b'potenzjal qerriedi tlett elef darba dik ta' Hiroshima!
L-Istati Uniti qatt se jafdaw kompletament lir-Russja li qerdet l-armamenti nukleari tagħha? Ir-Russja li qabdet u invadiet lill-Krimea qisu ma ġara xejn, u li tixħet 'il ħabs lil min jopponi 'l President tagħha? Jew liċ-Cina, li bil-kwiet u minghajr fanfarra qed iżżid sostanzjalment l-infieq militari tagħha sena wara sena, u li qed tniżżel saqajha fl-ibħra kontestati mill-ġirien Ażjatiċi tagħha?
U dawn tal-aħħar se jafdaw lill-Istati Uniti, li qatlet lil President tagħha nofs seklu ilu f'attakk bi preċiżjoni militari mingħajr responsabbiltà sallum tiġi attribwita? Li nvadiet pajjiż abbażi ta' intelliġenza ffabbrikata, u kkonvinċiet lil pajjiżi oħra jagħmlu l-istess? Li qegħda tikkunsidra tibdel president kawt militarment b'wieħed li meta jitkellem qisu qed jispara kanun wara l-ieħor, f'kull suġġett li jittratta?
L-Indja u l-Pakistan qatt se jafdaw lil xulxin, bil-ferita għadha friska tal-miljun persuna li mietu bil-qasma tal-Indja tal-antik, kapolavur tar-Renju Brittanniku, u bil-ġesti żgħar u rari ta' ħbiberija bejn iż-żewġ pajjiżi malajr jgħibu mal-ewwel sparatura fil-Kashmir?
Xi ngħidu għall-Korea ta' Fuq, bil-ftaħir kontinwu u pubbliku tagħhom li se jeqirdu lill-Istati Uniti?
U fl-aħħar, biex tafda lil xi ħadd, tistenna li jkun miftuħ u trasparenti. Min se jafda lill-Iżrael li l-ambigwità f'dan il-qasam hija l-politika tagħha?
Le, l-armamenti nukleari hawn se jibqgħu. L-affarijiet veru li jistgħu jinbidlu għall-aħjar, imma jistgħu ukoll jinbidlu għall-agħar. Id-deterrenza, jiġifieri li int ma tfittixx li teqred lili għax jien ukoll nista' neqred lilek, se tibqa', jiddispjaċini ngħid.
L-uniku ħaġa pożittiva li nara f'din l-istorja hija l-possibiltà fantaxjentifika li dawn l-armamenti jistgħu jintużaw fil-futur biex jiddefendu lid-dinja minn xi impatt ta' xi asteroidi li tkun qed thedded lill-ħajja ta' kull ħlejqa. Nammetti li qed naqbad it-tentufiet biex infittex il-pożittiv.
1http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/27/politics/obama-hiroshima-japan/index.html, retrieved 30/5/2016
2http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2009/press.html, retrieved 30/5/2016
3http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/t/npt#, retrieved 30/5/2016
1http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/27/politics/obama-hiroshima-japan/index.html, retrieved 30/5/2016
2http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2009/press.html, retrieved 30/5/2016
3http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/t/npt#, retrieved 30/5/2016
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