Moral Questions and Nuclear Arms
By Nicolo Orozco (COL'19)
On Thursday November 2, a panel will gather in Dahlgren Chapel to have a dialogue on the "Moral and Policy Questions on Nuclear Arms and North Korea." This dialogue happens at a critical time when the threat of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities is rising to the forefront, and Pope Francis’ support of nuclear disarmament is becoming increasingly vocalized. While North Korea has been dominating headlines recently, global nuclear armament has been a prevalent issue for some time. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that there are approximately 14,930 nuclear warheads in the world today—down from 70,300 in 1986—of which North Korea has no more than 20. The rising problems associated with nuclear armament are neither new nor limited to North Korea.
The first nuclear weapon was successfully detonated on July 16, 1945 at approximately 5:30 a.m. Watching the explosion, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Manhattan Project, recalled an ancient Hindu scripture, “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” In the 72 years since, nuclear weapons have become more powerful, efficient, and deadly. Since the United States’ invention of the nuclear bomb, eight other countries have gained possession of nuclear weapons. The most recent country to acquire nuclear weapons is North Korea, which claims to have acquired nuclear weapons in early 2003. North Korea had originally signed on to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1985, but then withdrew in 2003. Their withdrawal would draw backlash in October 2006, when they successfully tested their first nuclear weapon, drawing severe sanctions from the United Nations Security Council. Since these sanctions, a game of back and forth has ensued in which North Korea receives humanitarian aid, nuclear non-proliferation negotiations fail, North Korea advances its nuclear program, and more sanctions are imposed upon them. Currently we find ourselves in a situation in which North Korean leadership has accused the United States of “trying to drive the situation of the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war,” and the president of the United States has said, “Talking is not the answer.”
Parallel to these events, Pope Francis has repeatedly clarified the Vatican’s stance on nuclear proliferation. This July, using its first-ever vote in the United Nations since becoming a voting member in June, the Holy See voted in favor of banning the development, manufacturing, testing, and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Pope Francis published a letter he wrote to the United Nations stating, “International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power.” The call to build peace upon more than the threat of nuclear weapons’ mutually assured destruction reinforced throughout the letter, “In this context, the ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons becomes both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative.” With the situation in North Korea at an apparent climax and Pope Francis’ clear call to eliminate nuclear weapons, we will gather this Thursday to discuss the facts of the situation, the pertinence of Catholic social teaching on nuclear proliferation, and how to proceed from here.
Nicolo Orozco is a junior in the College (C'19) studying psychology and education.