Argical Analysis Of Eric Schlosser Today's Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear weapons have come into existence within the last decade. They have changed the way wars are fought as they could lead to the total extermination of humanity. These weapons can lead to mutual destruction of nations, which really have caused humans to reevaluate the way they conduct foreign affairs. Eric Schlosser’s article “Today’s nuclear dilemma” is about the nuclear weapons that countries control and what should be done with them. Schlosser argues that the current nuclear weapons active should be disarmed. He believes that there are too many variables in the equation of handling these weapons. He points out that no one in the world is safe with these weapons in circulation. I agree with Schlosser’s view, as nuclear weapons …show more content…
The author argues that these changes have increased the threat of nuclear weapons as Russia has lowered the threshold for using them. Schlosser then brings up an example of NATO in the cold war. NATO used a strategy to disperse tactical weapons to the frontline to deter a Soviet invasion. Schlosser then states that the authorization for firing the weapons was deregulated and thus the threat of the weapons being fired accidently rose substantially. The author ends his point of deregulation in nuclear weapons by saying that governments have tried to resolve the issue, but have not had …show more content…
Schlosser agrees with this point but he also states that since the deterrence is psychological and not physical it could not work in the future and bring about disastrous results. For example, if India and Pakistan used their nuclear weapons on each other, more that one billion people would be killed.
The next point that examined is nuclear weapons violate international law. This is true as nuclear deterrence is like holding a nation hostage. Also nuclear weapons cannot differentiate between military targets and civilians it violates the Geneva Conventions, which protect civilians. The author than talks about how the International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons has convinced many countries to seek abolition of nuclear weapons and how the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons have been steps in the right direction.
The last point of the article is about how to undo the knowledge to create nuclear bombs. Schlosser believes that the knowledge to create these weapons can be forgotten because as time passes and when there is no nuclear testing, people will forget as they become less