Nuclear Proliferation took the center stage immediately after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the year 1945, which effectively concluded the end of the Second World War. The massive destruction of life and property put the spotlight on nuclear weapons which was fairly unheard of at that time. This new found development in weapons technology suddenly became the best deterrent a country could ask for to safeguard its borders.
During the 1950's the general attitude was different towards the nukes, it was a means of power and prestige. But it was not until the 1960's which saw the rise of the two major powers USA and USSR that there was a dramatic shift in perception towards nuclear weapons, and laid the foundation to the nuclear proliferation treaty. Living under constant threat of nuclear war proved to be too much to handle, without mentioning the aggravated state of public dissension in both sides concerning the state of the economy. America was weary after Korea and a disappointing stunt at Vietnam cost them a lot in terms of public support, the USSR was also not impervious and the cracks were becoming seemingly visible. To be more specific the Cuban missile crisis was the final straw or rather the catalyst that sped up the process of nuclear proliferation.
The Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) came into effect in 1970 and currently has 190 country signatories. With the exception of nations with self-proclaimed nuclear weapons such as India, Pakistan and North Korea. While Israel maintains an opaque policy on nuclear weapons. The objective of the NPT was to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote nuclear energy for civil purposes and to promote complete nuclear disarmament. The big daddy USA and the "Secure Five" (i.e. 5 permanent Security Council members) despite its arsenal of thousands of WMD's, are asking countries like Iran, North Korea to give them up. Do you really think countries will readily accept to disarm themselves or stop enrichment just because someone orders you to? No! It is like asking a dog to part with its bone. The idea of owning nukes have become a part and parcel of today's world. Even the terrorists are desperately trying to get their hands on one. I pray to god that does not happen.
Time and time again has shown us the short comings of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. Years of threatening and issuing sanctions against countries like Iran and North Korea has bored little or no fruit at all. It is time to clean up the act and see where the problem is. An example of classic failure is the foreign policy of the US towards Iran and North Korea. I have to point out the irony in such a scenario, asking a country that first of all doesn't have a working delivery ICBM missile and barely has one working nuke to part with it by a country having thousands seems a little overboard. The issues regarding nuclear proliferation are two. First, proliferation won't work unless we remove the idea that nuclear weapons are a deterrent. Second, nuclear proliferation should be universal, with America supporting India and China supporting Pakistan, this really doesn't make sense. Either you undergo a complete world nuclear disarmament or better do nothing. Half and half really doesn't make a complete apple. To be honest nuclear proliferation was and always has been a scam for milking out other potential powers from the chess board. If any one party had been genuinely interested or for that matter cared enough we wouldn't have all this problems that we have today.
If nuclear proliferation needs to be a reality it cannot be a singleton effort rather a collective one. A sit down between the leaders of all the major nations need to pass with a common motive of collective good for the world.
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