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AbolishNuclearWeapons
ThenuclearbombsdroppedonHiroshimaandNagasakiin1945foreverchangedthefaceofwar,andthehalfcenturyofColdWar
whichfollowedwasdominated,aboveall,bythethreatofnucleardestruction.Bothsuperpowersracedtoproduceagreater
arsenalthantheiropponents,leadingtothepointwheretheyhadtheabilitytodestroytheworldseveraltimesover.Addedtothe
directdestructivepoweroftheweaponswastheconsensusgrowingamongscientistsfrom1970sonwardsthatamajorwarwould
plungetheworldintoanuclearwinter,destroyinglifeeveninplacesthathadescapedattack.ThisledtotheconceptofMutually
AssuredDestruction,astalemateinwhichbothsidesknewthattheuseoftheirweaponswouldleadtotheirowndestructionas
wellastheirenemies
.
Theglobalsituationhas,however,changedsubstantiallysincetheendoftheColdWar.NuclearWeaponshaveceasedto
dominateworldpoliticshowever,thefearofproliferationthespreadofweaponsofmassdestructiontomanymorecountriesis
alsoontherise.India,Pakistan,IsraelandNorthKoreaareallnownuclearpowers,andmanyfearthatIranwillsoonjointhem.
Thepropositioninthisdebatewillfocusonthetotalabolitionoftheworldsnucleararsenalsasarealisticgoaltoaimfor,as
PresidentObamahasrecentlyargued.Theoppositionismorepragmatic,notdefendingtheweaponspersebutinsistingthatthey
remainanecessaryevil.(forallreferencesinarguments,refertobibliography)

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AlltheYespoints

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1. Nuclearweaponsaremorallyrepugnant.

andHumanRights | Philosophical/
PoliticalTheory|

2. Nucleardeterrenceencouragesproliferation

Politics|Politics

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Religion | Science|

3. Riskofnuclearweaponsfallingintothewronghands

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4. Boththeuseandthreatofnuclearweaponsisillegal

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5. highrateofriskinvolvedintheconstructionofnucleararsenals

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AlltheNopoints
1. Nuclearweaponsarerequiredfordeterrence
2. Abolishmentisanunrealisticgoal
3. Wouldleavenationsvulnerableandresultinmoredeath.

AbolishNuclearWeapons
Yesbecause...

Nobecause...

Nuclearweaponsaremorallyrepugnant.
Overthepastfiftyyears,wehaveseenageneraltendency
towardslimitedwarfareandprecisionweapons,allowing
militaryobjectivestobeachievedwithminimallossof
civilianlife.Theentirepointofnuclearweapons,however,
istheirmassive,indiscriminatedestructivepower.Theiruse
couldkilltensofthousandsofciviliansdirectly,andtheir
catastrophicenvironmentalaftereffectswouldharmmany
moreallaroundtheworld.Theseeffectscouldneverbe
morallyacceptable,particularlyasthebasisofones
nationalsecuritystrategy.Theyplacehumanityandmost
formsoflifeinjeopardyofannihilation(Krieger,2003).

http://debatewise.org/debates/3382abolishnuclearweapons/

Robinson
Thegoal,eventheaspirationalgoal,ofeliminatingall
nuclearweaponsiscounterproductive.Itwillnotadvance
substantiveprogressonnonproliferationanditrisks
compromisingthevaluethatnuclearweaponscontinueto
contribute,throughdeterrence,toU.S.securityand
internationalstability
Nuclearweaponsareanecessaryevilthedoctrineof
mutuallyassureddestructionpreventedtheoutbreakof
nuclearwarduringtheColdWarbecauseinthefaceofan
immoralthreatadversariescouldplacethatofanimmoral
response.Nuclearweaponsthereforeactasacheckupon
theveryinstitutionofwar,restrainingaggressorsthrough
fearofmutualescalationandcertaindestruction.

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AbolishNuclearWeapons
Yesbecause...

Nobecause...

Nucleardeterrenceencouragesproliferation
Bymaintainingastrategicdeterrent,thecurrentnuclear
powersencouragetheproliferationofweaponsofmass
destruction(Krieger,2003).Tobeapartofthesocalled
'nuclearclub'isseenasamatterofgreatprestigewhen
IndiaandPakistanrecentlydeclaredtheirnuclear
capability,itwasseeninbothcountriesasincreasingtheir
internationalstatus.Also,nationsopposedtoanuclear
powerfeelthattheyneedtodeveloptheirowncapabilityin
ordertoprotectthemselves.Thedeclarednuclearpowers
mustthereforetaketheleadindisarmament,asan
examplefortherestoftheworld.

Statesseeknuclearweaponsnotprimarilyinordertouse
them,butinordertotakeadvantageofthesecuritythey
offer.Ifstatesexistedinaworldpostdisarmament,the
incentivestodevelopnuclearweaponsforreasonsof
securitywouldnothavedisappeared,infacttheywould
haveincreased.AsPaulRobinsonnotes,conventional
armamentswillremainthebackboneofU.S.defense
forces,buttheinherentthreattoescalatetonuclearuse
canhelptopreventconflictsfromstarting,preventtheir
escalation,aswellasbring(them)toaswiftandcertainend
(Robinson,2001).Suchpotentialadvantageswillnotbe
lostonstatesinanuclearfreeworld.

AbolishNuclearWeapons
Yesbecause...

Nobecause...

Riskofnuclearweaponsfallingintothewrong
hands
Whilenuclearweaponsexist,theycanfallintothewrong
hands.ThisisparticularlytrueinRussia,whichnowhad
controlofallofthenuclearweaponswhichweredistributed
aroundtheformerSovietUnion.Themilitaryisdisastrously
underfundedtechniciansandofficerswhowereusedtoa
highstandardoflivingarenowfindingthemselveswithout
pay,sometimesforyears.Atthesametime,otherstates
andextremistgroupsarewillingtopaysubstantialsumsfor
theirservices,andtogainaccesstonuclearweapons.The
dangerofaweaponbeingstolen,orinconsiderationofthe
currentpoliticalinstabilityinRussiaanuclearbasebeing
takenoverbydisgruntledmembersofthemilitaryorother
extremists,canonlybeendedbydestroyingtheweapons
(Allison,1997).

Whilenuclearweaponscanbedismantled,theweapons
gradeplutoniumwhichformstheirwarheadscannotsimply
bedestroyed.Instead,theymustbestoredinspecial
facilitiesinRussia,therearesomethousandsiteswere
militarynuclearmaterialisstored.Itisproducingthis
plutoniumwhichisinfactthemostdifficultstageinbuilding
aweaponbydismantlingmissiles,youarethereforenot
destroyingtheirmostdangerouspart,andhencetheriskof
theftdoesnotdecrease.Infact,itmayincrease:missile
silosinRussiaarestillthemostheavilyfundedpartofthe
military,whereasinrecentyearsithasbecomeclearthat
securityatstoragefacilitiesisofteninadequate.Moreover,
itisfareasiertostealarelativelysmallquantityof
plutoniumthananentireIntercontinentalBallisticMissile.
Ironically,thesafestplaceforplutoniuminpresentday
Russiamaybeontopofsuchamissile.

AbolishNuclearWeapons
Yesbecause...

Nobecause...

Boththeuseandthreatofnuclearweaponsis
illegal
TheInternationalCourtofJusticein1996declared
unanimouslythatanyuseorthreatofnuclearweaponshad
tobecompatiblewithexistinginternationallawrelatingto
armedconflict(InternationalCourtofJustice,1996).
Furthermore,amajorityofthejudgespresentfeltthatany
suchuseorthreatwouldgenerallybecontrarytothose
rulesofinternationallawandtherefore,unanimously,there
existsanobligationtopursueingoodfaithandbringtoa
conclusionnegotiationsleadingtonucleardisarmamentin
allitsaspectsunderstrictandeffectiveinternational
control(InternationalCourtofJustice,1996).

Theverysamejuryvotedunanimouslythatthereisin
neithercustomarynorconventionalinternationallawany
comprehensiveanduniversalprohibitionofthethreatoruse
ofnuclearweaponsassuch(InternationalCourtofJustice,
1996).Unlikebiologicalandchemicalweapons,forwhom
specifictreatieshavebeendevelopedtoregulateand
preventtheiruse,nuclearweaponsarerecognizedfortheir
restrainingeffectonwar.Disarmamentwouldbean
unstablestep.

AbolishNuclearWeapons
Yesbecause...

Nobecause...

highrateofriskinvolvedintheconstruction
ofnucleararsenals
astheexampleofChernobylerevels,thereisahighrateof

http://debatewise.org/debates/3382abolishnuclearweapons/

There'sagreaterriskwithnuclearwastemanagementand

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AbolishNuclearWeapons||Debatewisewheregreatmindsdiffer

riskinvolvedinconstructionofnuclearweapons.Thepeople
workinginsuchfactoriesarepronetosomanydiseases
andinfections.Apartfromthat,therearehighriskof
nuclearaccidentswhichmayleadtothedeathofthousands
ofinnocentpeopleaswellasenviromentpollution.

thedestructionofexistingnucleararsenals,there'snoclean
clearcutwayofdeterringfromanyoftheissueslistedon
theleft,whentakingnuclearweaponsapart.

AbolishNuclearWeapons
Yesbecause...

Nobecause...
Nuclearweaponsarerequiredfordeterrence

Theideaofasocalled'nucleardeterrent'nolongerapplies.
PeaceduringtheColdWarwasmaintainedonlybya
balanceofpowerneithersuperpowerhadanadvantage
largeenoughtobeconfidentofvictory.Thiseventually
becamethedoctrineofMutuallyAssuredDestruction:both
sideshadsufficientweaponrytototallyannihilateone
another,andpotentiallythewholeworld.However,thereis
nolongerabalanceofpower.Withtheproliferationof
nuclearweapons,someroguestatesmaydevelopthe
abilitytostrikeatenemieswhohavenonuclearweaponsof
theirown.Itisnotclearthatthemajornuclearpowerswould
thenstrikebackattheaggressor.Thisisfurther
complicatedbythefactthatmostoftheemergingnuclear
threatswouldnotbefromlegitimategovernmentsbutfrom
dictatorsandterroristgroups.Woulditeverbeacceptable
tokillthousandsofciviliansfortheactionsofextremists?

Theuseofnuclearweaponswouldindeedbeagreat
tragedybutso,toagreaterorlesserextent,isanywar.
Thereasonformaintaininganeffectivenucleararsenalisin
facttopreventwar.Bymakingtheresultsofconflict
catastrophic,astrategicdeterrentdiscouragesconflict.The
ColdWarwasinfactoneofthemostpeacefultimesin
history,particularlyinEurope,largelybecauseofthetwo
superpowers'nucleardeterrents.
Record
DuringtheColdWar,theprincipalfunctionofnuclear
weaponswastodeternuclearattack
DuringtheGulfWar,forexample,oneofthefactorswhich
preventedIraqfromlaunchingmissilestippedwithchemical
weaponwarheadsagainstIsraelwasthethreattheUSA
wouldretaliatewithanuclearstrike.Althoughthereisno
longerasformalathreatofretaliationastherewasduring
theColdWar,theverypossibilitythattheuseofnuclear
weaponsbyaroguestatecouldbemetaretaliatorystrike
istoogreatathreattoignore.Moreover,althoughthe
citizensofthecurrentnuclearpowersmaybeagainstthe
useofforceagainstcivilians,theiropinionswould

AbolishNuclearWeapons
Yesbecause...

Nobecause...
Abolishmentisanunrealisticgoal

In1996,theComprehensiveNuclearTestBanTreatywas
adoptedbytheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly.The
treaty,whichcallsforanendtoallnucleartesting,includes
provisionsforextensiveandindependentmechanismsfor
themonitoringofnuclearactivities.Suchmechanisms
couldeasilybecooptedforuseinimplementing,monitoring
andverifyinganyfuturenucleardisarmamentprocess.
Kimbali
ThedefactoglobalnucleartestmoratoriumandCTBTs
entryintoforcearecrucialbarrierstohelppreventthe
spreadofnuclearweaponstoadditionalstatesandare
essentialtothefutureviabilityofthenuclear
NonproliferationTreaty(NPT).Theyarethefirsttwoofthe
13practicalstepsforsystematicandprogressivenuclear
disarmamentthatwereunanimouslyadoptedintheFinal
Documentofthe2000NPTReviewConference

Thenucleargenieisoutofthebottle,andthereisnowayto
goback.Nucleartechnologyexists,andthereisnowayto
uninventit(Robinson,2001).Muchastheidealofglobal
disarmamentisfine,therealityisthatitisimpossible:it
takesonlyoneroguestatetomaintainasecretnuclear
capabilitytomaketheabolitionofthemajorpowers'
deterrentsunworkable.Withoutthethreatofaretaliatory
strike,thisstatecouldattackothersatwill.
Similarly,theprocessbywhichnuclearweaponsare
producedcannoteasilybedifferentiatedfromthenuclear
powerprocesswithoutconstantoversightitwouldbe
possibleforanystatewithnuclearpowertoregainnuclear
capabilityiftheyfeltthreatened.

AbolishNuclearWeapons
Yesbecause...

Nobecause...
Wouldleavenationsvulnerableandresultin
moredeath.

http://debatewise.org/debates/3382abolishnuclearweapons/

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AbolishNuclearWeapons||Debatewisewheregreatmindsdiffer
NuclearWeaponsshouldnotbeabolishedbecausenot
everyonewoulddestroythere'sandterroristgroupswould
maketheirown.Thiswouldleaveterroristgroupsand
countriesthatdon'tdestroytheremisselsatanadvantage
overtheonesthatdo.Asmuchaseveryonehatesthe
devastationandhorrorthattookplaceinJapanattheend
ofthesecondworldwar,itwasnesisaryandsavedlivesin
thelongrun.Japanwouldnothavesurrenderedanditis
estimatedthattheU.S.wouldlose200,000peoplethat
numberaloneismorethentheliveslostinjapanfromthe
bombs.Ifthebombshadnotdroppedmoreoftherepeople
wouldhavediedfightingthenthosthatdidintheblast.Also
thethreatofnuclearwarstopswarsfromevenoccuring.
Countriesthatwouldhavegonetowarnowdon'tbecuase
theydonotwantnuclearwartohappen.

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