In October 1962 the world as we know it rested on a nuclear knife-edge. Kennedy in his policy of brinkmanship brought the world’s two superpowers into direct conflict for the first time in history over the Cuban missile crisis. The threat of all out nuclear war was very real, and for the first time ever US forces were ordered to DEFCON 2. Kennedy believed the threat to the US was so high that he issued Security Action Memorandum 199 which authorised the loading of nuclear weapons onto aircraft. Luckily for mankind, diplomacy eventually prevailed and the crisis was averted. Russia agreed to turn its’ ships around and to dismantle its’ operations on Cuba. The United States likewise made concessions and removed its’ Jupiter missile system from Turkey.
Thankfully an all out nuclear holocaust never occurred. The events and the aftermath of the Cuban crisis helped begin the process of détente, which ultimately led to the end of the cold war. During détente a series of proposals on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation were agreed upon and the whole world breathed easier knowing that two nuclear superpowers were no longer poised to obliterate each other.
Since the crisis of 62 many other nations have joined the nuclear club including the UK, France, India, Pakistan, China, N. Korea and possibly Israel. With so many countries with first strike capability, the issue of non-proliferation is even more important than it used to be. Yesterday the US and Russia took another historic step towards achieving nuclear disarmament. Both countries currently have massive stockpiles of nukes Russia has over 13,000 warheads and the US has over 9,000. In a joint press conference held in Moscow President Obama and Russian President Medvedev agreed to continue the 1991 Start 1 treaty. The two leaders also agreed to reduce the number of warheads to below 1,700 within seven years. This new treaty marks a return to cordial and productive US-Russian relations which had been severely damaged during the Bush administration. The Russian Federation also gave the US permission for 4,500 militray flights through Russian airspace to Afghanistan.
In an interview President Medvedev stated “I would like particularly to stress that our country would like to reach a level of co-operation with the United States that would really be worthy of the 21st Century, and which would ensure international peace and security.”
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