On May 2 2005 representatives of 189 countries gathered in New York for a full month of discussions at the NPT Review Conference. This is the seventh review conference since the NPT came into force in 1970. The Agreement had a provision that it would be reviewed every five years. The 35-year old treaty was extended indefinitely at the 1995 Review Conference. In the six earlier reviews, consensus on a declaration was reached only thrice (1975, 1985 and 2000) with the main point of conflict being over Article VI. This article is aimed at the five nuclear weapon states to disarm completely and submit themselves to strict international controls. It is these imperialists that have adopted double-standards — while strictly imposing the terms of the treaty for others they ignore their own nuclear stockpile. In fact today the number of nuclear warheads is estimated at over 30,000 — an amount equal to what existed in 1970 when the Treaty came into force. Nuclear powers like India and Pakistan are not members of the NPT and neither is Israel, a non-declared nuclear power. North Korea came out of the NPT a few years back.

With the US’s bellicose posture on the question of nuclear weapons it is no doubt that this meeting was a non-starter. Till the end of the first week they were not even able to agree on the agenda. The Bush administration brought a completely different perspective to US nuclear and missile policy that began with the rejection of the CTBT and the abrogation of the 1972 ABM treaty. After 9/11 Bush took a negative attitude towards the NPT. Thus, during the conference there was dissent among the major stake holders in the NPT and the division among the five nuclear weapon states is also palpable — particularly between the US and the EU over Iran.

As expected the US sort to divert the agenda by a high-pitched campaign against North Korea and Iran. Rumours began to be spread in the hall that North Korea planned to test a nuclear weapon during the conference itself. The US representative’s entire speech was focused on non-proliferation sighting the dangers of the two countries and terrorism.

While the entire focus of imposing the NPT was on countries like Iran and North Korea, categorized as rogue states, a well known nuclear state, Israel is ignored. Israel is not even a signatory of the NPT. Besides the US and UK are adding even more deadly nuclear weapons to their stockpile, in a way that by-passes the clauses of the NPT. It is not surprising that this conference had nothing new to say.

Four years ago the five signatories to the NPT pledged to reduce their reliance on nuclear weapons to commit to irreversible reductions in their numbers. Instead the US embarked on the road of designing new weapons called Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators. It also made plans to build a new bomb factory for the mass manufacture of nuclear weapons.

Last year the Blair government renewed, with no debate, the US-UK mutual defence agreement first negotiated in 1958, which, according to Bush, gives Britain a "credible nuclear force". Sophisticated equipment, including what is said to be the world’s most powerful laser, is being installed at the UK’s atomic weapons establishment as part of a £.2 billion scheme that will enable Britain, with US help, produce a new generation of nuclear warheads. This technology will help Britain to get round obligations imposed by the comprehensive test ban treaty.

In addition, the US is toying with the idea of building a new generation of mini-nukes. The US weakened the concept of "negative security assurances" whereby nuclear states would not threaten or attack non-nuclear states with such weapons, by suggesting that it might use them in response to a biological or chemical attack, or even in other circumstances. It is said that some of these mini-nukes were tested in the Iraq war.

While freeing the US from any commitment Bush wants other countries to make ever more binding ones. The NPT does not stop states using enriched uranium to produce nuclear energy. But he does not want them to even have enriched uranium, as with Iran. The two-faced monster, Bush, said last month that "we cannot allow rogue states to undermine the NPT’s fundamental role in strength-ening international security".

While the US continues its stockpile of the most deadly weapons of mass destruction it makes a big noise of others having the weapons that are far inferior to it and not even 1% of that possessed by the US. No country should give into the bullying and pressure tactics of the US and strongly struggle for its independence of the US in all spheres, particularly the military. Just one day before the Conference North Korea tested a new short-range missile. Iran has threatened that it programme to enrich uranium will go ahead even if it is unable to come to an agreement with the European countries. Both countries have a right to their own defence specifically in the light of the fact that they have been categorised as ‘rogue’ states by the US and are facing direct threats of aggression.

There are a number of peace activists that focus only on the question of non-proliferation, rather than focusing their attention on the existing nuclear states that are, in fact, the major danger to world peace. Particularly the US imperialists are a grave threat to humanity as they now openly declare they will use nuclear weapons if need be. While we stand for the total destruction of all nuclear weapons, the first step in that direction must be towards disarmament by the nuclear powers. While they build up their arsenal we must defend the right of all countries to equip themselves with all weaponry necessary to fight back an imperialist attack. Finally, of course, it is not nuclear weapons but people’s war alone that can beat back the imperialist wars.