On October 13, 1999 the US Senate rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by a vote of 51 to 48 - far short of the 67 votes required for ratification. As expected, the vote was split along party lines. The Republican majority refused to allow for any sort of hearings or public debate on the issue and instead forced an immediate vote. This is the first time that the Senate has rejected an arms control pact. The US was the first nation to sign the treaty.

What is the CTBT?

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty calls for an end to the exploding of nuclear weapons on the surface of the Earth. Mid-air explosions are already covered by another treaty. The treaty is to be enforced by 321 monitoring stations and 16 laboratories situated throughout the world. The theory is that if the major nuclear powers begin a process of disarmament and the non-nuclear states stay that way, we can make the world a safer place for everyone. The growing interdependence of the world economies gives this treaty its real force. If a "rogue state" were to break this agreement, the combined efforts of the other nations of the world could penalize the offender through collective measures which are in conformity with international law.

The basic obligations of the treaty are:
"1. Each State Party undertakes not to carry out any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion, and to prohibit and prevent any such nuclear explosion at any place under its jurisdiction or control. 2. Each State Party undertakes, furthermore, to refrain from causing, encouraging, or in any way participating in the carrying out of any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion. "

The Future of Nuclear Disarmament

The CTBT, signed by over 150 nations, has been ratified by only 24 of the 44 states individually named in the treaty. The treaty cannot come into force until all 44 of the nuclear or near-nuclear states ratify it. Russia and China have been waiting to see if the US ratifies the treaty before ratifying it themselves. Since the Senate rejection, China has moved forward with plans to ratify the treaty, while Russia has "said that until its technology [has] caught up with the US, it would not ratify the treaty". India is continuing to move toward ratification. Pakistan claims that it will ratify the treaty only after India.

Historically, the US has paved the way toward nuclear disarmament. With the rejection of the CTBT, the US has signaled to the rest of the world that it will no longer lead in this area. Many nations feel threatened by the vast nuclear arsenal at the disposal of the US, and the fact that the US still maintains that it has the right to use nuclear weapons in a "first-strike" scenario. In fact, Russia has said that it will back out of its START II treaty obligations if the US continues to push forward its plans for a missle defense system capable of shooting down nuclear missles from space. The START II treaty calls for a reduction of the number of each country's nuclear weapons to below 10,000 by 2003.

Conclusion

The one thing that everyone seems to agree upon is that a nuclear war would be catastrophic to the world and is therefore undesirable. Unfortunately, there will be no progress toward the ending of this threat without the leadership of the United States. With the Senate's rejection of the CTBT, the world has come one step closer to nuclear annihilation.