Reexamining U.S. Nonproliferation Policy in South Asia

Abstract

The goal of U.S. policy toward South Asia has been to preclude the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. In support of these policies, the U.S. Congress enacted a series of legislation to provide automatic sanctions against nation states that violated nuclear proliferation protocols. In May 1998, first India and then Pakistan crossed the nuclear threshold by conducting tests of nuclear weapons, and then declaring themselves nuclear weapon states. These tests brought automatic sanctions from the U.S. government as well as condemnation from the UN Security Council. In the wake of this development, U.S. policy requires reassessment with an eye toward the short-term need to lessen the likelihood of conflict in South Asia, and with a long-term goal of implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Several options exist, but the policy option with the greatest likelihood for success is increased engagement by the U.S. in South Asia by using both inducements and sanctions to move India and Pakistan back into compliance with current international nuclear

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA364140

Entities

People

  • William L. Greer

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Law
  • Motivation
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Proliferation
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Political Science
  • Rules Of Engagement
  • South Asia
  • Task Forces
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security