Something About Tests

As promised, North Korea conducted it's first nuclear weapon test last week. Now reports are coming in that more tests are sure to follow. While the world seems to be ticked off at this impoverished country and it's pudgy leader, consider the following:

• Between 1945 and 1992, The United States conducted over 1,000 nuclear tests. It currently has 6,390 readily available nuclear warheads with a stockpile of 10,640.
  
• Since 1964, China has conducted 46 nuclear tests. It currently has 400 nuclear weapons.
• While it's not know how many tests Russia has conducted, it currently has 3,242 readily available nuclear weapons with a stockpile of 16,000.
• Between 1960 and and 1996, France conducted 200 nuclear tests. It currently has 350 nuclear weapons.
  
• Between 1952 and 1991, Britain conducted 42 tests. It currently has 200 nuclear weapons
• India posseses 110 nuclear weapons.
• Pakistan has 110 nuclear weapons
• It is believed Israel has over 200 nuclear weapons.
  
• North Korea has conducted one nuclear test and is believed to possess 15 nuclear weapons.
  

As you can see, there are a lot of nuclear weapons in our world today. It seems to me that all of these weapons were developed out of fear. As one country developed nuclear weapons, other countries felt the need to follow suit. It would then make sense that if everyone agreed to somehow dispose of these weapons, nobody would feel the need to possess them. If The United States didn't have any nuclear weapons, what reason would North Korea have for possessing them?

I also find it strange that, with all of these nuclear powers, The United States is so against North Korea's possession of them. Look at the numbers! They pose the least threat of them all. The United States is also strongly against Iran having nuclear weapons. That country has no nuclear weapons! It really doesn't make sense to me. There has only been one country in history to ever use a nuclear weapon (2 to be exact) in a war time assault. Just ask Japan who that country was.

Not only that, but while The United States is condemning North Korea for having nuclear weapons, they themselves are trying to develop even more sophisticated nukes. According to former President Bill Clinton, "the administration has asked for funds to research the development of two new nuclear weapons: one, a nuclear bunker buster, even though we have a conventional bunker buster that's quite powerful, and two, a so-called tactical battlefield nuclear weapon, which, the administration admits, had it been deployed -- they say it's small -- but, had it been deployed in the Iraq conflict, would have taken out 25 percent of Baghdad." That's nuts. Why is Bush so hell bent on stopping other people from possessing nuclear weapons except for himself? It's like he thinks the world can't see this double standard. If The U.S. scrapped it's nuclear weapons program I guarantee that we would have a safer world.