Nuclear Treaties
Dennis Silverman, U C Irvine
Source:
www.atomicarchive.com/Treaties/
Recent Nuclear Weapons
Limitations
• Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972): limited to
100 ABMs at one site. U. S. withdrew from in
2002 to build ABM system in Alaska and
California. 10 missiles in 2004 and 10 in 2005,
protective against N. Korea.
• Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (2002):
U. S. and Russia limited to 1700 to 2200
targeted nuclear weapons each by 2012, but no
removed warheads have to be destroyed.
Previous Reductions
• Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I (1972):
Froze number of missiles at 1972 levels.
• SALT II (1979): 2,400 limit on delivery
vehicles. Agreed to, but U. S. repudiated
this in 1986.
• Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (1991):
limit of 1,600 delivery vehicles; 6,000
warheads.
Previous Reductions
• START II (1993):
– by 2001, reduction to 4,250 deployed
warheads;
– by 2002, reduction to 3,500 deployed
warheads.
• Russia withdrew in 2002 because of U. S.
cancellation of the ABM treaty.
Non-testing Treaty
• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (1996):
26 of 44 nations ratified the treaty.
• 15 of 44 signed but did not ratify, including
the U. S., Russia, Israel, China, and Iran.
• Three nations have not signed or ratified:
India, Pakistan, and North Korea.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
• U. S., U.S.S.R., France, Great Britain, and
China agree not to export nuclear
weapons technology.
• Non-weapons states agree not to develop
nuclear weapons. Signed by 187
countries.
• Israel, Pakistan, India and Cuba are the
only non-signing countries.
Cooperative Threat Reduction
• $1 billion per year to the former Soviet
Union (Nunn-Lugar bill)
• Over 12 years has removed 6,000 nuclear
warheads, eliminated 1,500 ICBMs
• Destroying Russia’s 40,000 tons of
chemical weapons stockpile
• Replacing remaining 3 Russian plants that
produce weapons grade Pu with fossil fuel
plants
Summary
• Many nuclear weapons have been and are
being produced in countries engaged in
regional conflicts.
• This presents a supremely dangerous
situation for them and the world at large.
• Can more be done by treaties or economic
or other pressures to lessen the threat?