The USA’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Policy

Abstract

There is a fairly widespread impression that the Reagan administration is somehow less committed than its predecessors to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. This is not the case. The Reagan administration places a very high priority indeed on non-proliferation. In a policy statement in July 1981, President Reagan pledged that the USA would seek to prevent the spread of nuclear explosives to additional countries as a fundamental national security and foreign policy objective. Secretary of State George Shultz in an address to the UN General Assembly in late 1982, underscored the strength of this commitment. After referring to the importance of arms-control negotiations with the Soviets, he went on to say: The problem of arms control cannot be left to the two superpowers. The threat of nuclear proliferation extends to every region in the world and demands the attention and energy of every government. This is not solely, or even primarily, a concern of the superpowers. The non-nuclear countries will not be safer if nuclear intimidation is added to already deadly regional conflicts. The developing nations will not be more prosperous if scarce resources and scientific talent are diverted to nuclear weapons and delivery systems.