The problem, said ElBaradei last year, is the inherent hypocrisy of countries such as the United States and Russia, who possess thousands of nuclear weapons, telling smaller nations they can't have any of their own.
Until the world commits to eradicating the nuclear weapons, ElBaradei said "we will continue to have this cynical environment that all the guys in the minor leagues will try to join the big leagues. ... They will say 'If the big boys continue to rely on nuclear weapons, why shouldn't I.'"
When the nation with the most weapons decides it wants to rip up treaties, build new weapons and use them pre-emptively, what does that tell the rest of the world? If those 40 or so other countries with the technical capability and/or the required material to build a nuclear weapon decide to do so, the world becomes that much more dangerous.
The need for a return to the careful diplomacy that ultimately reined in the nuclear menace has never been greater. The alternative is a frantic global free-for-all that could result in even more nations with nuclear weapons and fewer inhibitions about using them.
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