Outlaw nuclear weapons

All peace-loving countries should condemn President Bush's statement that he will not rule out using nuclear weapons as a punitive measure against Iran.

Iran's "crime", that it carried out minor enrichment of uranium, pales into insignificance compared to that of the United States, that not only possesses enough atomic bombs to blast humanity out of existence several times over but is now actually threatening to use nuclear bombs against another country.

During the Cold War there was some justification in western countries possessing nuclear weapons to counter the Soviet threat. Now, 16 years after the end of the Soviet empire, the powerful arms industry has ensured that the US will not give up its nuclear arsenal. It is actually developing more advanced nuclear armaments, and the Iran dispute is seen as an opportunity to test these "tactical" devices.

Nuclear non proliferation made sense during the Cold War. Now something more drastic is needed, namely outlawing the possession of nuclear bombs by all countries. Otherwise the temptation will remain to use nuclear force when other forms of aggression fail.

Malta has a record of peace seeking initiatives, and should be in the forefront of a combined effort by signatories of the non-proliferation treaty to outlaw all nuclear weapons.