U.S. Developing New Nuclear Weapon: Another Reason to Deep Six U.N. Report

(AP) As the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission gave their report to the United Nations on June 1st it fell to the floor in a resounding thud. The American media silence was followed up by our U.N. Ambassador’s blasting the U.N. on a related issue. The press release for the WMDC report states:

The Commission’s members state that common global efforts to achieve arms limitations and disarmament have stagnated. After 50 years of cold war, we even see the risk of arms races involving new types of nuclear weapons, space weapons, and missiles.

The United States approved the development of a new nuclear weapon in 2005 to replace its aging arsenal of over 6,000 nuclear warheads. The measure to develop the reliable replacement warhead was included in the defense appropriations bill passed with bipartisan support. No mention has been made of its compliance with the United States commitments under the nuclear nonproliferation agreement.

Despite previous agreements not to weaponize space, the United States made this a prime objective in 2005. The pattern of behavior suggests America is leading the arms race once again. That other countries are following suit is clear. It is evidenced in China’s military buildup, numerous countries developing nuclear weapons outside the nonproliferation agreement, and leaders on most continents devoting a greater percentage of their budget to the military and weapons.

The Commission made 60 recommendations to reduce the worldwide threat of weapons of mass destruction beginning with nuclear weapons.

At the top are recommendations that all governments must accept the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that was agreed on 10 years ago, that states currently possessing nuclear weapons must reduce their arsenals and that they stop producing plutonium and highly enriched uranium for more nuclear weapons.

The world must aim at achieving a ban both on the possession and the use of nuclear weapons, in the same way as bans that apply to biological and chemical weapons. All states, even the great powers, must prepare to live without nuclear weapons and other weapons of terror.

The United States is not prepared to do such at a thing at this time, thus the report rapidly disappeared from view, followed up by a John Bolton attack on the United Nations. The Commission called for a summit in New York to work on the 60 recommendations. Will it ever occur? If not, who is working against it?