Nuclear Weapons Life Extension Programs and Article VI of the NPT
Posted: February 27, 2014 Filed under: Nuclear 1 CommentGarrett Hamel — Nuclear Life-Extension Programs
A couple of weeks ago I posted a paper written by one of my students in the class I recently taught at the University of Ottawa School of Law. I said there that two of the papers turned in by students in that class were so exceptional in their quality, and in the timeliness of their subject matter, that they deserved a broader audience.
The second of those papers was written by Garrett Hamel, a JD student at the University of Ottawa, on the topic of nuclear weapons life extension programs and international law. This is a very timely subject, as the question of the future expense of nuclear weapons modernization programs in the US is high politics right now. Garrett did a really excellent job in this paper reviewing life extension programs, and then considering the obligations on all states imposed in Article VI of the NPT related to nuclear disarmament. I highly recommend the piece to readers.
Arms Control Law 
The violation of the good faith principle contained in Article VI of the NPT reminds me of a similar violation of the 1950 Armistice Agreement , Article IV, regarding Korea.
Here we are sixty-some years later and nothing has been done. The US military is still in Korea, commanding South Korean military forces.
Why? Because war pays, and it pays better than peace.
It’s similar with nukes. Ploughshares, projected spending next ten years — $372 billion.