Ever since the first "successful" detonation of a nuclear bomb on August 6th, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan, the thought of international safety has become a mere folktale. On that date it was no longer a question of what these weapons could do in open warfare, but it turned to a question of how can the world collectively join forces and make sure that these utterly devastating weapons are never used again. I have always been interested in this question because my grandfather fought in World War II, and after hearing all of his stories I spent a lot of my time as a child trying to get my hands on more books pertaining to the second Great War. As I read more and more I became intrigued, even though my grandfather fought in Europe, by the war in the Pacific. However, there was one thing that I could never quite understand about how the war in the Pacific ended, and that was by the use of two nuclear bombs over the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ultimately murdering thousands of innocent people. What if that were the city that you called home? If the growing tensions around the world do not subside, mainly in regards to Russia who currently has the second largest nuclear weapon arsenal in the world, then with a push of a button the same fate that the people of Japan felt those August evenings in 1945 could be felt by any major city targeted by a nuclear attack. This is why the argument to ban these weapons of mass destruction has become such important fight, because we are all truly stakeholders when it pertains to the banishment of these weapons. The United States should work with the other nuclear weapon bearing countries to ban the continued creation or use of these weapons worldwide for several reasons, including: their harsh environmental effects, prolonged effects on the human body, monetary cost, civilian casualties, and ultimately, for the sake of international security and safety.

The thought of having a weapon that could end the most deadly conflict in history is very intriguing. This was brought up to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 by world renowned physicist Albert Einstein in a letter that he penned to him to make it known that the Germans were attempting to create a weapon of mass destruction, and that they had already figured out how to split the Uranium atom ("The Manhattan Project" NP).  Einstein knew that this was the most pivotal point in the weapon making process, and urged the Americans to take this matter very seriously. This kick started the Manhattan Project, the American's equivalent to the German's atomic bomb construction. Robert Oppenheimer was the lead physicist, and with the help of one hundred and twenty thousand Americans he was ready to test his first bomb in the summer of 1945. The bomb created a crater that was a half mile wide, and the flash from the initial explosion could be seen from over 200 miles away ("The Manhattan Project" NP). It took only about three weeks to go from first ever nuclear bomb test to first ever use nuclear bomb used in open warfare when Fat Man and Little Boy, the code names of the nuclear bombs, were dropped Nagasaki and Hiroshima respectively ("The Manhattan Project" NP).

These weapons were made to cripple a nation, and that is exactly what they did. Both Nagasaki and Hiroshima were sizeable cities at the time of the explosion, and the American military knew that if these cities were severely damaged that the Japanese could not hold on, and would finally bring an end to World War II. In these two bustling cities alone an estimated one hundred and forty-two thousand buildings were either completely destroyed or damaged (Barnaby 11). With the help of these bombs the war was over. However, many civilians who made absolutely no decisions in regards to Japans military disputes paid the price by losing their lives. Those who did not lose their lives might have lost their home, their business, or their loved ones. According to Barnaby 83 percent of people that were within a kilometer of the bomb site were killed (Barnaby 12). Those who were within this kilometer were considered the lucky ones, because most of them were killed instantaneously. It was those who were just far enough to not be killed instantly that suffered the true horrifyingly harmful effects that these bombs cause on the human body. These were the ones who witnessed radiation sickness firsthand. Radiation sickness has a multitude of side effects, but most notably vomiting, spontaneous bleeding, shedding of skin, and hair loss ("Radiation Sickess" NP). All of these painful symptoms lead down the same path into a painful death most likely within thirty days of the initial exposure. 

For a nation to truly to be crippled into a surrender, that seemed nearly impossible to get out of an adamant Japanese leadership, the physicists behind the Manhattan Project knew that the bomb had to be one thing; deadly. That is exactly what the Fat Man and Little Boy were. Little Boy was the deadlier of the two, killing about forty percent of the population of Hiroshima which is approximately sixty-six thousand people within five days of the explosion (Barnaby 10). The Fat Man in Nagasaki killed an estimated thirty-nine thousand people, which was around twenty-six percent of its population at the time (Barnaby 10). These numbers of the death toll in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however as large as they may be, do not tell the entire story of the massive amounts of civilian casualties that occurred on these dark days. Along with the sixty-six thousand left dead in Hiroshima there were also another seventy thousand that were injured ("The Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski" NP). In Nagasaki twenty-five thousand were injured along with the forty thousand that were killed. ("The Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski" NP).  There were a total of one hundred and forty thousand, and sixty-five thousand casualties in Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. There is no reason for damage like this to be done to any civilian population. If there is a war raging between to nations, then that should be fought in a war zone instead of using these killing machines to thrash the unknowing civilian population.

The human race is not the only living thing that is harshly effected by the use of nuclear weapons. Mother Earth takes just as hard of a hit as us humans due with every explosion. Even though these weapons have only been used twice in open warfare there have been many tests, and studies on what effects these nuclear weapons could have if there were a full fledged nuclear war. If a nuclear war were to somehow breakout this would lead the world into what is called a nuclear winter (Jha NP). This is caused by the amount of soot that is thrown into the atmosphere due to these massive explosions. The soot would cause a hemisphere size cloud that could last up to around seven years of winter like conditions. A study was conducted that showed if a nuclear conflict occurred that used around fifty to one hundred warheads, which is only about three hundredths of a percent of the all nuclear capable countries combined stockpile, would create climatic problems like the human race has never seen before (Jha NP). After the nuclear winter begins this would kick start a long list of unprecedented effects. First and foremost, the growth of most crops would be halted, and this would lead to our biggest problem, starvation. Lack of food is already a problem within many countries today, and with the famine that would come with nuclear winter millions would die. Not only would the food be affected by these bombs, but a vast hole in the ozone layer would open up because of all of the mega tons of soot that would sit in the atmosphere (Jha NP). This is the layer of the atmosphere that removes most of the harmful UV rays from the light that hits the surface of the Earth. With all of these problems stemming from even the smallest of nuclear conflicts it is safe enough to say that there is no grey area pertaining to these weapons. Meaning that they will either be used, and kill millions of people or not be used and saving lives and most importantly our Mother Earth. 

Since the first use of nuclear weapons in Japan there has been a constant state of near war. After World War II the United States was plunged into what is now known as the cold war. This was the name given to the constant state of unrest that was present between two previous members of the allied powers that fought in World War II. Although all of the allied powers were involved, the main adversaries of the cold war were the United States and the Soviet Union. The premise of the cold war is nothing other than the United States and the Soviet Union vying to be the worlds greatest super power of all time. Tensions got extremely heated when the United States came the closest it has ever been to full fledged nuclear war in what is now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. When the Soviet Union wanted to stockpile nuclear weapons on the island of Cuba during the cold war the United States did not really like the idea of that many active nuclear warheads being so dangerously close to the continental United States. The United States military then stepped in and ran a blockade through the shipping line between the Soviet Union and Cuba. This led to very tense months between the superpowers, but luckily President Kennedy figured out a way to keep the USA out of what was considered by some imminent nuclear war. The thought that any sort of conflict between world superpowers could spring the unwarranted use of nuclear weapons and eventually the death of millions of innocent people is absolutely terrifying. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the perfect example as to why these weapons need to be banned. Instead of hiding behind nuclear capabilities these weapons need to be banned worldwide so that true diplomatic solutions can be found without the threat of many lives being lost.

The common misconception surrounding these nuclear weapons is the thought that these weapons keep the peace. Yet this makes no sense. To those who believe these weapons are the peacekeepers I refer back to the cold war. The United States and Soviet Russia knew of the immense power that they held in these weapons. This did not stop them from coming at each others throats until one of them was pushed to do so.  They also knew that at any moments notice one nation could have pulled the trigger, killing thousands instantly, and eventually millions in the coming months. This is why at any given moment we face a constant threat on an instant nuclear war. And even though it is very unlikely it is very possible that there can be an accidental launch. Accidental or not, this will lead to an immediate retaliation. These weapons are just as much peace keepers as the Gestapo were, needless killing at the civilian's expense. The world can only truly live in peace if these weapons are exterminated as soon as possible. 

The one main issue with these weapons that is not completely inhumane is their monetary cost. Even though the United States has not used on of these weapons since 1945 the amount of money the government has spent on these weapons is absolutely senseless. Since the creation of the first bomb the USA has stockpiled approximately seven thousand three hundred of these, and the average cost to keep one of these weapons maintained for a year is $1.8 million dollars (Wellen NP). Which means the average cost to maintain the United States arsenal per year is around $1.3 billion (Wellen NP). This means that Americans are working every day, and paying for a weapon that has not been used since 1945. This number is used in the counter argument, saying that this number is ultimately meager compared to the amount of money the United States spends on its defense, but arguing that spending $1.3 billion a year on nuclear dust collectors that "keep the peace," is not a very effective one. This is only about three percent of the United States yearly Defense budget, but if the argument to keep these mindless killers around only goes as far as claiming that $1.3 billion is not that much money to a government as big as the US is proof enough that we need to get rid of these weapons. All nuclear weapon capable countries would follow the US if we took the Nuclear Proliferation treaty seriously enough. 

The Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, NPT, was an agreement signed by all nuclear capable countries that was the first step in taking these weapons out of the lime light, and eventually getting rid of them all together (Schultz et al. NP). This sounds very nice in theory, but not many know how exactly it has worked. The treaty stated that all countries at that point in 1967 that did not have nuclear weapons technologies would not pursue it in any way, and that all countries that held these weapons slowly diminish the amount they had stockpiled yearly. Since the United States has around seventy-three hundred of these weapons forty-eight years after this treaty was signed it is very hard to say how good of a job the NPT has done. There are other agreements that have been made since then, but most of these agreements only include the countries that already have nuclear weapons. This leads to the biggest worry surrounding these nuclear weapons worldwide today, and that is the thought of a rogue nation getting their hands on the technology. 

In the past twenty years these rogue nations have become more and more eager to get their hands on nuclear technology (Calabresi NP). The two thorns in the world's collective side have been Iran, and North Korea. Neither of these sides have signed the NPT, and have made large strides in the creation of nuclear weapons. For many years Iran has been the United States focus in their fight against these rouge nations. The United States has acquired classified documents detailing Iran's work in the enrichment of uranium possibly up to a level needed to make weapons. Iran has adamantly denied these allegations, stating that their nuclear program has only one focus, and that is to harness nuclear power for its energy, and not its uses as a weapon. Iran then claimed that all of the information that the US had on its nuclear program was a complete fabrication put into place to keep everyone below the United States (Calabresi NP). This has led to a complete distrust between the two nations, and made it very hard for future negotiations to make up any ground. 

With the rogue nations making everyone weary of dismantling their own arsenal this is the time for new worldwide sanctions. Every country that has capabilities to even get near creating a nuclear weapon needs sign a deal that has similar terms to the original NPT, but there needs to be a review system. There should be a team of nuclear specialists, one from each country, that thoroughly review every countries nuclear faculties annually. Also, any nation that is under review at a certain point should not send one of their own specialists to their own facility. The team can be formulated by the delegates from each nation that is represented in the  United Nations. This will lead to an unbiased, and uncensored tour of every countries facility, and keep these rogue countries like Iran and North Korea from being completely secretive in regards to their nuclear capabilities. 

The world can not live in true peace, and harmony while these instruments of destruction are ready to be fired at the flip of a switch. This causes the smaller, less wealthy countries to be oppressed, and keeps this aura of distrust between all countries around the world. This distrust should be the first step in gaining that trust through diplomacy. Diplomacy should be the next step towards forever banning weapons of mass destruction. Without these weapons humans do not have to worry about these damaging affects these weapons have on their bodies, on their environments, and on their wallets. More importantly, the closer the world is to banning these weapons, the closer the human race is to achieving peace on Earth. 

