NYT, U.S. Is Nuclear Rogue

U.S. New York Times criticized Defense Ministry’s `Nuclear Posture Review (NPR)` through the editorial titled `America as Nuclear Rogue, ` and urged President George W Bush not to accept it. Following is a summary.

U.S. would call the country as `dangerous rouge`, if a country planed to develop new nuclear weapon considering going on a series of offensive first. That is what Defense Ministry’s new report, announced last week, asks President Bush to do. President Bush is required to send back the report and to ask for less dangerous report for the security of the next generation.

Though `Nuclear Posture Review` suggests overall reduction of nuclear warheads, it justifies the counter with nuclear weapon, and extended the list of countries that might be attacked with nuclear weapon by U.S.

For example, the report recommends U.S. President to threaten with nuclear retaliation in case of Iraq’s attack on Israel, North Korea’s invasion of South Korea and military confrontation concerning the status of Taiwan.

The report is wrong in that it could make it easy to use nuclear weapons, and spoil the efficiency of Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). NPT, the main device for U.S. to prevent nuclear-free countries from developing nuclear weapon, is backed up by the promise that the signatory nations should not be attacked with nuclear weapon as long as they stay without nuclear, and make a war allied with a nuclear state.

If the suggestion of Defense Ministry should be accepted, the promise will be withdrawn, and non-nuclear nations would have no reason to stay as they are.

Development of new nuclear weapon requires the resume of nuclear test, and that will stop the U.S.’ voluntary suspension of nuclear test, which was helpful for holding back the nuclear development program of North Korea and Iran.

Since the nuclear era, military strategists have been controlled by the belief that U.S. should use nuclear weapon just in danger of existence and for basic national interest, and that unlimited use of nuclear weapon might vanish the creatures from the globe. That is the belief thoughtful Americans share. It is thoughtless blunder to make it easy to use nuclear weapon.

Ki-Heung Han eligius@donga.com