ABSTRACT
Nuclear issues have been inherently difficult for policymakers, and present challenging conflicts of interest when balanced against other nuclear policy roles. After the end of the Cold War, the attention on the nuclear posture of the superpowers turned to focus on counter-proliferation, seeking to secure nuclear weapons, particularly in the former Soviet Union, from theft and sale on the black market. In 1991, UN Coalition forces discovered a clandestine nuclear weapons programme in Iraq that had been successfully hidden from the international safeguards and verification inspectors who felt that Iraq had come close to developing a nuclear weapons capability. In deciding whether to rebuild the stockpile or extend the nuclear stockpile life expectancy, policymakers should look at what the consequences might be for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty non-nuclear weapons states. Aggressive industry initiatives to improve plant operation and maintenance have alleviated the public fear of nuclear technology so that nuclear energy is viewed as a reliable electrical power source.
