Only three countries in the world are credible nuclear powers: the United States, Russia and China.
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They have fought three wars since independence in 1947 and are now nuclear powers.
Neither country, it was said, would be accepted into the club of official nuclear powers.
Within Europe, only Britain and France (both nuclear powers) have a tradition of wielding military force far afield.
Indeed, both India and Pakistan have been judged for some time to be nuclear powers, albeit undeclared ones.
Before the treaty was negotiated, President Kennedy predicted a world with up to 20 nuclear powers by the mid-1970s.
In addition, new nuclear powers such as North Korea and Pakistan were emerging.
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India and Pakistan are now both nuclear powers, having tested weapons in 1998.
He also said nuclear powers such as the US, along with Britain, France, Russia and China, should themselves "move towards disarmament".
The legislation also expressly provided for a resumption of U.S. nuclear testing in the event that other nuclear powers conducted tests.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty called for the major nuclear powers to disarm gradually and for smaller countries to forego new nuclear arsenals.
For example, none of the world's other nuclear powers - not one - has promised to follow his lead in disarming their nations.
In the view of Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, America's new policy should turn the tables on critics of the old nuclear powers.
If you look at the Nuclear plan being unveiled by the US and while the five nuclear powers continue to stock US Nuclear weapons.
The five nuclear powers joined the nuclear non-proliferation treaty as five nuclear powers with a long-term aim of getting rid of those nuclear weapons.
The nuclear powers have long said they will not use their weapons against non-nuclear opponents, but they have refused to make it a legally binding promise.
Both India and Pakistan are proven nuclear powers after last year's tit-for-tat tests, and it is believed they may each possess a small number of nuclear warheads.
Yet the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty, concluded in 1996 and since signed by more than 150 states (including all five official nuclear powers), has still not come into force.
Countries other than the recognized nuclear powers who attempt to test a weapon must first manufacture or obtain a weapon, which would constitute a violation of the NPT.
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With this agreement, the United States and Russia -- the two largest nuclear powers in the world -- also send a clear signal that we intend to lead.
The introduction of nuclear weapons would harm India's relations not only with its old rival Pakistan, but with many smaller countries in the region and the established nuclear powers.
It wants recognition by the other nuclear powers that it is now one of the club, and the promise of an end to sanctions if it signs the treaty.
If all this goes well, and the two countries with the most weapons can move on beyond Start-3, the way will be open to bring in the other nuclear powers.
The Clinton team has argued that such steps are justified since an end to U.S. underground testing is an essential factor in dissuading would-be nuclear powers to give up their ambitions.
He suggests a recommitment by the nuclear powers not to test their weapons--there have been no nuclear tests since 1996--in exchange for a commitment by all nations to stop enriching uranium.
The troubled is the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which dates back to 1968 which has been signed by most countries of the world did acknowledge that there were only going to be five nuclear powers.
Similar attitudes are doubtless widespread among nuclear powers.
As nuclear powers, we can be full partners in preventing the spread of the world's most deadly weapons, securing loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and pursuing our shared vision of a world without nuclear weapons.
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