Common Sense on Weapons of Mass Destruction

Chronology

Chronology 1945 The first nuclear test explosion is conducted in New Mexico on April 10. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are attacked with atomic bombs on August 6 and 9, respectively. 1946 The Cold War begins, recognized by Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech in Fulton, Missouri. 1948 Czechoslovakia is seized by the Soviet Union, signifying a major intensification of the Cold War. 1949 The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb. President Truman proposes a four-point program to help nations resist the advance of communism. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (nato) is founded. 1950 The United States conducts its first hydrogen bomb test explosion. 1952 The Soviet Union tests its first hydrogen bomb. Britain conducts its first nuclear weapon test. 1953 President Eisenhower delivers his “Atoms for Peace” 1 6 9 speech at the United Nations, which will lead to the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency (iaea) and the dispersal of peaceful nuclear technology in an effort to head off weapon proliferation. 1954 The Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact is founded. 1955 The first East-West summit meeting is held in Geneva, Switzerland, and attended by the leaders of Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union. 1958– U.S.-Soviet moratorium on nuclear weapon tests, which 61 the Soviet Union breaks in September 1961, with the largest nuclear weapon test explosion of all time—more than 58 megatons. A vigorous U.S. nuclear test series follows. 1959 The first modern arms control treaty, the Antarctic Treaty, is signed, among other things prohibiting nuclear weapons in the Antarctic. 1960 France conducts its first nuclear weapon test. 1962 The Cuban Missile Crisis. In October, the United States and the Soviet Union teeter on the brink of allout nuclear war, due to the secret basing of Soviet medium- and short-range nuclear weapon missile systems in Cuba. The crisis is resolved when the Soviets withdraw the missiles and nuclear warheads in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba and to later withdraw comparable U.S. medium-range nuclear weapon systems based in Turkey. 1963 The Limited Test Ban Treaty (ltbt), the first major East-West limitation on nuclear weapons, is signed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain. 1964 China conducts its first nuclear weapon test. 1967 The Outer Space Treaty is signed, banning the stationing of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in outer space. A U.S.-Soviet summit meeting is held in Glassboro, New Jersey, which will lead to the commencement of the salt negotiations two years later. 1 7 0 / c h r o n o l o g y The Treaty of Tlatelolco is signed, banning nuclear weapons in Latin America. 1968 The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (npt) is signed. 1969– The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (salt i) culminate 72 in the signing of the Antiballistic Missile (abm) Treaty and the Interim Agreement on Strategic Offensive Arms in 1972. 1970 The United States deploys its first multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (mirv) system, by which one strategic nuclear missile can strike many targets. The npt enters into force. 1972 The abm Treaty and the Interim Agreement are signed. The Biological Weapons Convention (bwc) is signed. 1972– The salt ii negotiations are held, culminating in the 79 signing of the salt ii Treaty in 1979. 1975 The Soviet Union deploys its first mirv systems. The Helsinki Final Act is signed and goes into effect. 1979 The Soviets invade Afghanistan. The nato two-track decision on medium-range nuclear systems is agreed upon in December. The decision is to attempt to resolve the Soviet medium-range nuclear missile threat to Europe within four years by arms negotiations , and failing that, to deploy new U.S. medium-range nuclear weapon missile systems in Europe. The salt ii Treaty, a comprehensive agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union limiting strategic offense, is signed. 1981 The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (inf) negotiations on medium-range nuclear weapon missile systems in Europe commence. President Reagan proposes that all such systems be eliminated (the “zero-option”) even though at that time the Soviet Union had 1200 medium-range nuclear weapon missile systems deployed against Europe and the U.S. had none deployed in Europe against the Soviet Union. c h r o n o l o g y / 1 7 1 The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (ccw) is signed. 1982 The Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (start) negotiations commence. 1983 The...