Are Nuclear Weapons Illegal or Immoral?
There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that nuclear weapons are the WMD par excellence [1], [2], [3]. What about low-yield nuclear weapons used against underground facilities [.pdf]? Nuclear-weapons advocates tout the benefits of such weapons as being militarily effective, causing “reduced collateral damage” (RCD), and increasing the “flexibility of nuclear strike forces.” There is, however, no sharp line dividing small nuclear weapons from large ones, or RCD from non-RCD. Once any nuclear weapon is used, the door is wide open for the use of all nuclear weapons. Addressing the legal status of the threat and use of nuclear weapons, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined in 1996 that “the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law.” The United States submitted a dissenting opinion, arguing that “there is no general prohibition in
