Nuclear Powers Lead in Signing Atomic Test Ban

Wielding the pen that President John F. Kennedy used 33 years ago on the world’s first treaty limiting atomic testing, President Clinton on Tuesday signed what he called “the longest-sought, hardest-fought prize in arms control history”--a pact banning all nuclear explosions.

Following Clinton in signing the comprehensive test ban treaty were representatives of the other four acknowledged nuclear weapons states--China, Britain, France and Russia--and a parade of other government leaders.

Clinton’s appearance at the ceremony, which marked the start of the 51st session of the U.N. General Assembly, vividly demonstrated the advantages an incumbent president enjoys in an election year.

In a speech after the signing, he criticized Republican nominee Bob Dole’s opposition to a separate accord banning chemical weapons, and he showcased what he described as American accomplishments to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The president also sought to preempt one of Dole’s favorite issues by announcing $112 million worth of drug-fighting assistance to Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and the island nations of the eastern Caribbean. The money, previously appropriated by Congress as part of a military assistance program, will pay for fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft, helicopters, other equipment and training for anti-drug forces.

“These resources will help our friends stop the flow of drugs at the source,” Clinton said.

He said the test ban treaty will prevent nuclear powers “from developing more advanced and more dangerous weapons [and] will limit the ability of other states to acquire such devices themselves.”

The “threshold” nuclear states--Israel, India and Pakistan--are considered to have the capability to create atomic weapons.

But the treaty faces formidable obstacles. If India, which objects to the pact because it does not require the nuclear powers to dismantle their existing arsenals, sticks with its refusal to sign, the treaty will never formally take effect. India holds veto power because the treaty will not become binding until it is signed and ratified by all 44 nations that conduct nuclear research or have nuclear reactors--a list that includes India.

A substantial faction of U.N. detractors in the U.S. Senate also has vowed to block ratification of the accord.

But Clinton asserted that the measure “will immediately create an international norm against nuclear testing” as soon as a majority of the world’s nations sign, something that is assured before the middle of next month. Moreover, U.S. officials believe that India will eventually agree to go along rather than stand as the lone holdout against a generation-old dream that New Delhi once championed.

Addressing India’s argument directly, although not mentioning the country, Clinton said: “Do not forsake the benefits of this achievement by ignoring the tremendous progress we have already made to that goal” of total nuclear disarmament.

At the same time, the president expressed “deep regret” that the same anti-U.N. forces in the Senate that threaten U.S. ratification of the test ban have blocked approval of a separate treaty prohibiting the development, possession or use of poison gas and other chemical weapons.

Dole, once a supporter of the treaty, tipped the scales against it by announcing his opposition earlier this month. Clinton vowed to resubmit the chemical weapons treaty to the Senate next year, providing he defeats Dole in the November election.

“I want to assure you and people throughout the world that I will not let this treaty die and we will join the ranks of nations determined to prevent the spread of chemical weapons,” he told the U.N. delegates.

In contrast to his speech in the same chamber last year, when he bashed the U.N. for failing to control its bloated budget, Clinton defended the world organization Tuesday. He asserted that the vast majority of the American public supports it, despite the opposition of conservative critics who say the U.N. threatens U.S. sovereignty.

“The United Nations is more important than ever before, because our world is more interdependent than ever before,” he said. “Most Americans know this. Unfortunately, some Americans, in their longing to be free of the world’s problems and perhaps to focus more on our own problems, ignore what the United Nations has done, ignore the benefits of cooperation, ignore our own interdependence with all of you in charting a better future.”

Clinton at the same time was uncompromising in his determination to prevent U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali from winning a new term. Although Clinton and Boutros-Ghali chatted amiably for 15 minutes before the president spoke, Clinton said later that the secretary-general “knows our position is firm and will not be changed.”

Under the U.N. system, the United States and the four other permanent members of the Security Council can veto a candidate for secretary-general.

On other subjects, Clinton called on the international community to ban antipersonnel land mines and to increase efforts to stop terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime.

But the day’s focus was primarily on the test ban treaty, which, if ratified, will prohibit all nuclear explosions, even those for ostensibly peaceful purposes. Clinton said the pact builds on the treaty banning tests in the atmosphere that Kennedy signed in 1963. Clinton said Kennedy had hoped to negotiate a comprehensive test ban but that his “vision exceeded the possibilities of his time.”

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Milestone in Arms Control

The U.S. and the other four declared nuclear powers Tuesday signed a landmark treaty banning nuclear tests. Dozens of other nations also signed the pact, and a majority of the world’s countries are expected to do so by mid-October.

THE PROVISIONS: The treaty bans any kind of nuclear weapons explosions, whether in the atmosphere or underground. It also sets up a monitoring system to verify compliance or spot violations.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: The treaty is flawed by a provision that requires 44 states that conduct nuclear research or have reactors to ratify it through their legislatures. And India refuses to sign until the atomic powers devise a schedule to destroy their nuclear arsenals.

THE 5 DECLARED NUCLEAR WEAPON NATIONS

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number of warheads number of nuclear test (since 1945) U.S. 7,000+ 1,030 Russia 7,000+ 715 France 512 210 Britain 464 45 China 284 45

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Note: All five declared nuclear weapons states have imposed voluntary moratoriums on testing.

Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute