Brighton Peace and Environment Centre
What is Trident?
Trident is the UK's nuclear weapons system. Developed by the US during the Cold War, it commenced in 1994 with a 30 year lifespan. The UK stockpiles around 200 operational nuclear warheads. These launch from US Trident missiles on four submarines. Each warhead has around eight times the explosive power of the Hiroshima bomb which killed over 200, 000 people.
The debate
Trident will be out of date in 2024 and to develop a replacement would take about 14 years, so a decision about whether to replace it has to made soon. Prime Minister Tony Blair wants the decision made as early as March this year, whilst he is still in office - this doesn't leave much time for considered debate. Both Blair and Brown are keen to update or replace Trident, commonly referred to as the UK's 'nuclear deterrent system'. Why 'deterrent'? Because its presence is meant to deter any attack on the UK.
In a speech in the House of Commons, December 2006, Blair said,
“The government's judgment, on balance, is that though the Cold War is over, we cannot be certain in the decades ahead that a major nuclear threat to our strategic interests will not emerge; that there is also a new and potentially hazardous threat from states such as North Korea which claims already to have developed nuclear weapons or Iran which is in breach of its non-proliferation duties; that there is a possible connection between some of those states and international terrorism; that it is noteworthy that no present nuclear power is or is even considering divesting itself of its nuclear capability unilaterally; and that in these circumstances, it would be unwise and dangerous for Britain, alone of any of the nuclear powers, to give up its independent nuclear deterrent.” 1
However, many others think differently, opposing Trident. In 2006 the Defense Committee Inquiry identified international terrorism as “the most pressing threat currently facing the UK,” concluding that:
“(...) the strategic nuclear deterrent could serve no useful or practical purpose in countering this kind of threat .” 2
However the debate isn't solely concerned with nuclear weapons acting as deterrent, but that to replace Trident would be a breach of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that the UK, together with 188 countries, signed in 1968.
International obligations
The NPT is an international agreement set to limit the spread of nuclear weapons and reduce the number of existing ones. The NPT is the most widely accepted arms control agreement and it states in article VI:
” Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control." 3
Mr. Blair claims that in compliance with the NPT the UK's nuclear stockpile has considerably reduced during the last decades and is heading toward disarmament. Yet can developing new nuclear weapons can count as disarmament?
Bruce Kent, vice-president of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and former UN Secretary Kofi Annan fear that the decision to replace Trident will encourage nuclear proliferation, and start a new nuclear arms race.
At the 60th Anniversary of the UN, January 2006, Kofi Annan said:
"If the UK envisages another 50 years of British security being based on threatening other populations with mass destruction then we encourage other states to do the same and thus paradoxically we increase our security risk rather than decrease it".
What it would cost
Estimated costs to replace and maintain Trident are between £20 and £76 billion. Peace groups suggest these funds could be spent better on community well-being, social development and infrastructure.
What are the alternatives?
It is not unrealistic for the UK to free itself from nuclear weapons. South Africa, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have already done so. The UK is one of a handful of states that possess nuclear weapons. Yet 180 non-nuclear weapon states have willingly signed the NPT and are not in possession of nuclear weapons.
Former UN nuclear weapons inspector, Hans Blix, an advocate of outlawing nuclear weapons recently proposed a world summit to discuss nuclear disarmament. A Nuclear Weapons Convention, like those designed to ban chemical and biological weapons, would be a significant contribution to world peace. The model of such a treaty covering topics such as verification, inspection, criminality and control of fissile materials has already been lodged with the United Nations. If Britain initiated a world summit on disarmament, it would enhance Britain’s standing on the world stage as there is global desire for abolition of nuclear weapons. Is Britain brave enough to take the first step?
What can I do?
READ THE GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER
http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/AC00DD79-76D6-4FE3-91A1-6A56B03C092F/0/DefenceWhitePaper2006_Cm6994.pdf
READ THE CND WHITE PAPER
(External) http://www.cnduk.org/pages/altwhitepaper.pdf
READ INTERESTING Q&A
(External) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4805768.stm
COME TO THE DEMONSTRATION WALK IN LONDON ON FEB. 24th, 2007
No to Trident and Troops Out of Iraq. (External) http://www.cnduk.org/
SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST TRIDENT REPLACEMENT (British citizens/residents only) (External) http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/trident/
LOBBY YOUR LOCAL MPs (Members of Parliament)
(External) http://www.cnduk.org/pages/campaign/lobby.html
1 BBC News: Blair’s Trident statement in full. Under http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6207584.stm
2 House of Commons Defense Committee, The Future of the UK's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: the Strategic Context, Eight Report of Session 2005-06, The Stationery Office Limited, paragraph 88.
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