I Disagree With Kenneth Waltz’S Positionthat Nuclear...

I disagree with Kenneth Waltz’s position that nuclear proliferation makes the world a safer place, and how best to measure the spread of nuclear weapons, particularly in regimes that are developing, unstable, or â€Å"third-world.†1 While some scholars see nuclear weapons as a threat to stability and peace due to their mass destruction capability and the potential for horrific fallout triggered by ethnic and geopolitical instability, others see those weapons as holding the power to maintain an appropriate balance of power between opposing regimes at times of tension and during periods of low level conflict. This debate is reflected in international relations. Waltz argues that nuclear weapons keep the world secure, as states would not take the†¦show more content†¦As for second-strike deterrence, Waltz states that there are two necessities: survival of a first attack and the ability to inflict sufficient damage. Without absolute certainty of destruction of the opposition’s arsenal, a country would be less likely to attack. Because of uncertainty about the size of another country’s arsenal size, nations would not take the risk of retaliation; â€Å"Even the largest states recoil from taking adventurous steps if the price of failure is the possible loss of a city or two†1. The problem I see with this position is that nations may sometimes benefit from spotting â€Å"signatures† that are carelessly sent to enemy intelligence agencies which may inadvertently reveal secret information about the size and location of otherwise â€Å"hidden† military forces. For example, Pakistani road construction crew s inadvertently signaled the location of secret M-11 missiles by placing wide-radius roads at Sargodha Missile Base . The failure of the Soviet military to keep its 1962 missile deployment in Cuba secret was similarly caused by construction crew routines that produced â€Å"signatures† which highlighted the location of the missiles. The â€Å"Star of David† pattern of air defense missile battery placements and â€Å"slash marks† on missile pads gave away the Cuban secret to the Americans. Regarding the accidental use of nuclear weapons, Waltz dismisses this