Nuclear hypocrisy

Once again the hypocrisy in the war of words about nuclear weaponry is made manifest. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, deputy and heir apparent to Tony Blair, says he wants Britain to renew and fortify its nuclear-weapons arsenal. The United Kingdom, along with other Western powers, is critical of Iran for its plans to enrich uranium, a preliminary to developing a bomb.

If Iran were to build a bomb it would be violating The Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to which it is a signatory as a non-nuclear-weapon state. However, Article VI of the Treaty also requires the nuclear states " ... 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." None of the nuclear states are fulfilling their obligations under Article VI, and now the deputy leader of Britain's ruling party is talking about renewing and fortifying its arsenal.

If the world leaders won't set an example and honour their agreement, how on earth can we expect lesser powers to do so?