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First Do No Harm: A Critique of the Human Security Approach to Arms Control

(JCPA) Gerald M. Steinberg - When the President of Iran calls for "wiping Israel off the map," while his country provides weapons and training to terror groups, and the International Atomic Energy Agency officially declares that it is in violation of its commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty prohibiting the development of nuclear weapons, what can the advocates of human security and multilateral disarmament offer in response? The idealists who were responsible for the abundance of protocols and treaties after World War I share responsibility for the carnage that followed. They did not prevent German rearmament under the Nazi regime, and mass marches for pacifism that took place in Britain blocked a credible deterrent. In contrast, during the Cold War, mutual deterrence was an essential element in preventing another, even more horrendous, conflagration. In regions characterized by deep hatred and protracted conflicts, the legitimate sovereign state and the deterrence that is provided by defense forces remain the only credible insurance against Iranian threats to "wipe Israel off the map."
2006-02-23 00:00:00
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