Urgency of Big Changes That Can Save the World from Weapons of Mass Destruction

“The volume of challenges facing the global community is overwhelming, but there is only one challenge that could end the civilization in an afternoon”.—Nobel Laureate Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War, 2025

“A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” –President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in a joint statement in 1985.

Many warnings such as the ones mentioned above have been voiced regarding the urgency of avoiding nuclear war. Unfortunately, these warnings have not prevented the world from increasing the risks of such a war, particularly over the last year or so.

To illustrate the highly dangerous situation, consider the SIOP (Single Integrated Operational Plan for General Nuclear War) that the USA prepared in 1960. It targeted the Soviet Union with a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons, projected to kill 600 million people (one-fifth of the human population then) from direct hits and the subsequent spread of radioactive fallout across a much wider part of the world, particularly China, East Europe, and South Asia. (Single Integrated Operational Plan for General Nuclear War) which the USA had prepared way back in 1960 for targeting the Soviet Union with a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons which would kill 600 million people (one fifth of the human population then) due to direct hits as well as spread of radioactive falloutRadioactive FalloutThe residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, which then falls back to Earth, posing severe health and environmental hazards. subsequently over a much wider part of the world, particularly China but also East Europe and South Asia. This shocked people when first revealed, but perhaps no less shocking is Annie Jacobsen’s revelation in her bestseller \Nuclear War—A Scenario\ (2024): ‘A similar, still-classified plan exists today.’ Over the years its name has changed. What began as the Single Integrated Operational Plan is now the Operational Plan, or OPLANOperational PlanA general term for a military plan, in this context referring to the current U.S. strategic nuclear war plan, identified as OPLAN 8010-12.. For the Nuclear Information Project, in consort with the Federation of American Scientists, project director Hans Kristensen and senior researcher Matt Korda have identified the current Operational Plan as OPLAN 8010-12. And that it consists of a ‘family of plans’ directed against four identified adversaries: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.”

However, three of these targets are nuclear-weapon countries themselves (one possessing the biggest stocks in the world), while the fourth is a potential nuclear-weapon country. Thus, it is clear that if the USA (or its NATO allies) are targeting these countries, then these countries too would be targeting them to the best of their abilities. All of this, coupled with the spread of fallout, makes the world a very dangerous place.

A lot has been said by scientists, diplomats and other experts regarding how these life-threatening dangers can be reduced. This writer has regularly reviewed and summarized several such suggestions. Ultimately, the fact must be faced: no matter how noble, these intentions have not proved effective, and instead, the world has been moving closer to the possibilities of nuclear war, while at the same time, dangers caused by linking AI with nuclear weapons and moves towards space warfare have further increased the peril for humanity and all forms of life. with nuclear weapons and moves towards space warfare have increased the danger further for humanity and for all forms of life.

This, coupled with increasing risks of nuclear weapon proliferation, has convinced many well-informed people that ultimately it is not merely a matter of reducing risks or the possibilities of actual use; the ultimate aim should be to do away entirely with nuclear weapons, eliminating them and all weapons of mass destruction., have convinced many well-informed people that ultimately it is not a matter just of reducing risks of nuclear weapons or the possibilities of their actual use, the ultimate aim should be do away entirely with nuclear weapons, to eliminate nuclear weapons as well as all Weapons of Mass DestructionWMDsNuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to human-made structures, natural structures, or the biosphere..

Again, no matter how well-informed and well-intentioned, this conclusion runs up against global realities, forcing many to regretfully conclude that such elimination may not be possible under existing world conditions.

However, the next very important question that needs to be raised (which, unfortunately, is seldom raised) is this: Is it not the time to change those conditions—structural and governance conditions—that prevent the world from making decisions of the greatest importance for saving life? If the present system is bent on destroying life—through WMDs, wars, and environmental ruin—then it is fundamentally time to change this system structurally and alter its governance, using the path of non-violence for continuous mobilization of people to create a safer world for present and future generations, based on justice-based peace and the protection of the environment and all forms of life.

In a very humble and small way this writer tried to contribute to this by starting a campaign for saving the life-nurturing conditions of the earth and for declaring the next decade as the decade for saving earth. The effort started with writing and publishing five books in English and Hindi, including ‘Planet in Peril’, ‘Protecting Earth for Children’ and ‘Earth without Borders’. In the last-mentioned book, I presented three versions of a world structured and governed in different ways that could help create much better conditions for eliminating nuclear weapons and resolving the most urgent environmental problems.