Nuclear Scare
The conflict between India and Pakistan is especially frightening because of each country's nuclear capabilities. In 1998, India tested a nuclear missile, setting off an arms race with Pakistan and bringing the world closest to the brink of an a nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Currently, Pakistan has enough uranium for 10 missiles, and India has enough plutonium for 72. Compare that to the United States and Russia, both over 7,000.
To find out more about how atomic weapons work, visit How Things Work.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists provides up-to-date facts and figures on the world's nuclear arsenals. They use the "Doomsday Clock" to illustrate how close we are to midnight, a symbol of nuclear danger. On Febuary 27, 2002, the minute hand was moved from 9 minutes until midnight to 7, largly due to the crisis between India and Pakistan and the failure of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.
Fear of a nuclear war after Hiroshima and Nagasaki lead to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States. Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. A total of 187 parties have joined the Treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon States. More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, a testament to the Treaty's significance. To read and learn more, visit the United Nations site or the State Department site.
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