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Baruch Plan

The Baruch Plan was a proposal put forward by the United States government on 14 June 1946 to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC) during its first meeting. Bernard Baruch wrote the bulk of the proposal, based on the March 1946 Acheson–Lilienthal Report. (The United States, Great Britain and Canada had called for an international organization to regulate the use of atomic energy, and President Truman responded by asking Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson and David E. Lilienthal to draw up a plan.) The Soviet Union, fearing the plan would preserve the American nuclear monopoly, declined in December 1946 in the United Nations Security Council to endorse Baruch's version of the proposal,[1] and the Cold War phase of the nuclear arms race followed.

Description edit

In the Plan, the US agreed to decommission all of its atomic weapons and transfer nuclear technology on the condition that all other countries pledged not to produce atomic weapons and agreed to an adequate system of inspection, including monitoring, policing, and sanctions. The Plan also proposed to internationalize fission energy via an International Atomic Development Authority, which would exercise a monopoly of mining uranium and thorium, refining the ores, owning materials, and constructing and operating nuclear plants. This Authority would fall under the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.[2] In short, the plan proposed to:[3]

  1. extend between all countries the exchange of basic scientific information for peaceful conclusions;
  2. implement control of nuclear power to the extent necessary to ensure its use only for peaceful purposes;
  3. eliminate from national armaments atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction; and
  4. establish effective safeguards by way of inspection and other means to protect complying States against the hazards of violations and evasions.

In presenting his plan to the United Nations, Baruch stated:[4]

We are here to make a choice between the quick and the dead. That is our business. Behind the black portent of the new atomic age lies a hope which, seized upon with faith, can work our salvation. If we fail, then we have damned every man to be the slave of fear. Let us not deceive ourselves; we must elect world peace or (elect) world destruction.

Reaction edit

The Soviets rejected the Baruch Plan and suggested a counter-proposal on the grounds that the United Nations was dominated by the United States and its allies in Western Europe, and could therefore not be trusted to exercise authority over atomic weaponry in an evenhanded manner. Nationalist China, a UN Security Council member with veto privileges, was anti-communist and aligned with the US at this time. The USSR counter-proposal insisted that America eliminate its own nuclear weapons first before considering any proposals for a system of controls and inspections.[5][6][2]

Although the Soviets showed further interest in the cause of arms control after they became a nuclear power in 1949, and particularly after the death of Stalin in 1953, the issue of the Soviet Union submitting to international inspection was always a thorny one, upon which many attempts at nuclear arms control stalled. Crucially, the Baruch Plan suggested that none of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council would be able to veto a decision to punish culprits. Because of the difficulties in monitoring and policing, as well as Stalin's ambition to develop atomic weapons, although negotiations over the Baruch Plan and the Soviet counter-proposal continued in the UNAEC until 1948, the Plan was not seriously advanced later than the end of 1947. Throughout the negotiations, the USSR was fast-tracking its own atomic bomb project, and the United States was continuing its own weapons development and production. With the failure of the Plan, both nations embarked on accelerated programs of weapons development, innovation, production, and testing as part of the overall nuclear arms race of the Cold War.[2]

Bertrand Russell urged control of nuclear weapons in the 1940s and early 1950s to avoid the likelihood of a general nuclear war, and initially felt hopeful when the Baruch Proposal was made. In late 1948 he suggested that "the remedy might be the threat of immediate war by the United States on Russia for the purpose of forcing nuclear disarmament on her." Later he thought less well of the Baruch Proposal as "Congress insisted upon the insertion of clauses which it was known that the Russians would not accept."[7] In his 1961 book Has Man a Future?, Russell described the Baruch plan as follows:

The United States Government... did attempt... to give effect to some of the ideas which the atomic scientists had suggested. In 1946, it presented to the world what is now called "The Baruch Plan", which had very great merits and showed considerable generosity, when it is remembered that America still had an unbroken nuclear monopoly... Unfortunately, there were features of the Baruch Proposal which Russia found unacceptable, as, indeed, was to be expected. It was Stalin's Russia, flushed with pride in the victory over the Germans, suspicious (not without reason) of the Western Powers, and aware that in the United Nations it could almost always be outvoted.[8]

Historical significance edit

Scholars such as David S. Painter, Melvyn Leffler, and James Carroll have questioned whether or not the Baruch Plan was a legitimate effort to achieve global cooperation on nuclear control.[2][9][10] The Baruch Plan is often cited as a pivotal moment in history in works promoting internationalizing nuclear power[11] or revisiting nuclear arms control.[12][6] In philosopher Nick Bostrom's 2014 work Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, he cited the Baruch Plan as part of an argument that a future power possessing superintelligence that obtained a sufficient strategic advantage would employ it to establish a benign 'singleton' or form of global unity.[13]:89

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Painter, David S. (25 March 2010). "Oil, resources, and the Cold War". In Leffler, Melvyn P.; Westad, Odd Arne (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Cold War. Vol. 1: Origins (reprint ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 487. ISBN 9780521837194. Retrieved 9 May 2023. Aware of the Baruch Plan's implications, the Soviets blocked its adoption by the United Nations Security Council in December 1946.
  2. ^ a b c d Gerber, Larry G. (1982). "The Baruch Plan and the Origins of the Cold War". Diplomatic History. 6 (4): 69–96. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.1982.tb00792.x. ISSN 1467-7709.
  3. ^ Rumble, Greville (1985). The Politics of Nuclear Defence – A Comprehensive Introduction (1st ed.). Cambridge: Polity Press. pp. 285 (8–9, 219). ISBN 0-7456-0195-2.
  4. ^ Williams, Joshua. "The Quick and the Dead". Carnegie International Non-Proliferation Conference. June 16, 2005.
  5. ^ "Milestones: 1945–1952 - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  6. ^ a b Kearn, David W. (2010-03-12). "The Baruch Plan and the Quest for Atomic Disarmament". Diplomacy & Statecraft. 21 (1): 41–67. doi:10.1080/09592290903577742. ISSN 0959-2296. S2CID 154515687.
  7. ^ Russell, Bertrand (1969). The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell: 1944-1967, Volume III. London: George Allen and Unwin. pp. 17, 18, 181. ISBN 978-0-04-921010-3.
  8. ^ Bertrand Russell, Has Man a Future? [London: Allen and Unwin, 1961], pp. 28-9.
  9. ^ Painter, David S. (September 2007). "From Truman to Roosevelt Roundtable" (PDF). H-Diplo.
  10. ^ Carroll, James (2007-06-04). House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 120–121. ISBN 9780547526454.
  11. ^ Nilsson, L. J. Verfasser (1991). Safeguarding and internationalizing nuclear power. OCLC 1068978033. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ Mackby, Jenifer (2016-07-03). "Still seeking, still fighting". The Nonproliferation Review. 23 (3–4): 261–286. doi:10.1080/10736700.2016.1290026. ISSN 1073-6700. S2CID 151383304.
  13. ^ Bostrom, Nick, 1973- author., Superintelligence : paths, dangers, strategies, ISBN 978-1-5012-2774-5, OCLC 1061147095 {{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Further reading edit

  • Chace, James. "Sharing the Atom Bomb." Foreign Affairs (1996) 75#1 pp 129–144. short summary
  • Hewlett, Richard G. and Oscar E. Anderson. A History of the United States Atomic Energy Commission: The New World, 1939-1946, Volume I. (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1962).
  • Mayers, David. "Destruction Repaired and Destruction Anticipated: United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), the Atomic Bomb, and US Policy 1944–6." International History Review 38#5 (2016) pp 961–83.

External links edit

  • Atomic Archive: The Baruch Plan
  • David J Holloway. 2020. "The Soviet Union and the Baruch Plan."

baruch, plan, proposal, forward, united, states, government, june, 1946, united, nations, atomic, energy, commission, unaec, during, first, meeting, bernard, baruch, wrote, bulk, proposal, based, march, 1946, acheson, lilienthal, report, united, states, great,. The Baruch Plan was a proposal put forward by the United States government on 14 June 1946 to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission UNAEC during its first meeting Bernard Baruch wrote the bulk of the proposal based on the March 1946 Acheson Lilienthal Report The United States Great Britain and Canada had called for an international organization to regulate the use of atomic energy and President Truman responded by asking Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson and David E Lilienthal to draw up a plan The Soviet Union fearing the plan would preserve the American nuclear monopoly declined in December 1946 in the United Nations Security Council to endorse Baruch s version of the proposal 1 and the Cold War phase of the nuclear arms race followed Contents 1 Description 2 Reaction 3 Historical significance 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksDescription editIn the Plan the US agreed to decommission all of its atomic weapons and transfer nuclear technology on the condition that all other countries pledged not to produce atomic weapons and agreed to an adequate system of inspection including monitoring policing and sanctions The Plan also proposed to internationalize fission energy via an International Atomic Development Authority which would exercise a monopoly of mining uranium and thorium refining the ores owning materials and constructing and operating nuclear plants This Authority would fall under the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission 2 In short the plan proposed to 3 extend between all countries the exchange of basic scientific information for peaceful conclusions implement control of nuclear power to the extent necessary to ensure its use only for peaceful purposes eliminate from national armaments atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction and establish effective safeguards by way of inspection and other means to protect complying States against the hazards of violations and evasions In presenting his plan to the United Nations Baruch stated 4 We are here to make a choice between the quick and the dead That is our business Behind the black portent of the new atomic age lies a hope which seized upon with faith can work our salvation If we fail then we have damned every man to be the slave of fear Let us not deceive ourselves we must elect world peace or elect world destruction Reaction editThe Soviets rejected the Baruch Plan and suggested a counter proposal on the grounds that the United Nations was dominated by the United States and its allies in Western Europe and could therefore not be trusted to exercise authority over atomic weaponry in an evenhanded manner Nationalist China a UN Security Council member with veto privileges was anti communist and aligned with the US at this time The USSR counter proposal insisted that America eliminate its own nuclear weapons first before considering any proposals for a system of controls and inspections 5 6 2 Although the Soviets showed further interest in the cause of arms control after they became a nuclear power in 1949 and particularly after the death of Stalin in 1953 the issue of the Soviet Union submitting to international inspection was always a thorny one upon which many attempts at nuclear arms control stalled Crucially the Baruch Plan suggested that none of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council would be able to veto a decision to punish culprits Because of the difficulties in monitoring and policing as well as Stalin s ambition to develop atomic weapons although negotiations over the Baruch Plan and the Soviet counter proposal continued in the UNAEC until 1948 the Plan was not seriously advanced later than the end of 1947 Throughout the negotiations the USSR was fast tracking its own atomic bomb project and the United States was continuing its own weapons development and production With the failure of the Plan both nations embarked on accelerated programs of weapons development innovation production and testing as part of the overall nuclear arms race of the Cold War 2 Bertrand Russell urged control of nuclear weapons in the 1940s and early 1950s to avoid the likelihood of a general nuclear war and initially felt hopeful when the Baruch Proposal was made In late 1948 he suggested that the remedy might be the threat of immediate war by the United States on Russia for the purpose of forcing nuclear disarmament on her Later he thought less well of the Baruch Proposal as Congress insisted upon the insertion of clauses which it was known that the Russians would not accept 7 In his 1961 book Has Man a Future Russell described the Baruch plan as follows The United States Government did attempt to give effect to some of the ideas which the atomic scientists had suggested In 1946 it presented to the world what is now called The Baruch Plan which had very great merits and showed considerable generosity when it is remembered that America still had an unbroken nuclear monopoly Unfortunately there were features of the Baruch Proposal which Russia found unacceptable as indeed was to be expected It was Stalin s Russia flushed with pride in the victory over the Germans suspicious not without reason of the Western Powers and aware that in the United Nations it could almost always be outvoted 8 Historical significance editScholars such as David S Painter Melvyn Leffler and James Carroll have questioned whether or not the Baruch Plan was a legitimate effort to achieve global cooperation on nuclear control 2 9 10 The Baruch Plan is often cited as a pivotal moment in history in works promoting internationalizing nuclear power 11 or revisiting nuclear arms control 12 6 In philosopher Nick Bostrom s 2014 work Superintelligence Paths Dangers Strategies he cited the Baruch Plan as part of an argument that a future power possessing superintelligence that obtained a sufficient strategic advantage would employ it to establish a benign singleton or form of global unity 13 89See also editAcheson Lilienthal Report Atoms for Peace Cold War International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ITER Nuclear arms race Russell Einstein Manifesto Science diplomacy United Nations Atomic Energy Commission UNAEC References edit Painter David S 25 March 2010 Oil resources and the Cold War In Leffler Melvyn P Westad Odd Arne eds The Cambridge History of the Cold War Vol 1 Origins reprint ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 487 ISBN 9780521837194 Retrieved 9 May 2023 Aware of the Baruch Plan s implications the Soviets blocked its adoption by the United Nations Security Council in December 1946 a b c d Gerber Larry G 1982 The Baruch Plan and the Origins of the Cold War Diplomatic History 6 4 69 96 doi 10 1111 j 1467 7709 1982 tb00792 x ISSN 1467 7709 Rumble Greville 1985 The Politics of Nuclear Defence A Comprehensive Introduction 1st ed Cambridge Polity Press pp 285 8 9 219 ISBN 0 7456 0195 2 Williams Joshua The Quick and the Dead Carnegie International Non Proliferation Conference June 16 2005 Milestones 1945 1952 Office of the Historian history state gov Retrieved 2020 09 05 a b Kearn David W 2010 03 12 The Baruch Plan and the Quest for Atomic Disarmament Diplomacy amp Statecraft 21 1 41 67 doi 10 1080 09592290903577742 ISSN 0959 2296 S2CID 154515687 Russell Bertrand 1969 The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell 1944 1967 Volume III London George Allen and Unwin pp 17 18 181 ISBN 978 0 04 921010 3 Bertrand Russell Has Man a Future London Allen and Unwin 1961 pp 28 9 Painter David S September 2007 From Truman to Roosevelt Roundtable PDF H Diplo Carroll James 2007 06 04 House of War The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power Houghton Mifflin Harcourt pp 120 121 ISBN 9780547526454 Nilsson L J Verfasser 1991 Safeguarding and internationalizing nuclear power OCLC 1068978033 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a last has generic name help Mackby Jenifer 2016 07 03 Still seeking still fighting The Nonproliferation Review 23 3 4 261 286 doi 10 1080 10736700 2016 1290026 ISSN 1073 6700 S2CID 151383304 Bostrom Nick 1973 author Superintelligence paths dangers strategies ISBN 978 1 5012 2774 5 OCLC 1061147095 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a last has generic name help CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Further reading editChace James Sharing the Atom Bomb Foreign Affairs 1996 75 1 pp 129 144 short summary Hewlett Richard G and Oscar E Anderson A History of the United States Atomic Energy Commission The New World 1939 1946 Volume I Pennsylvania State University Press 1962 Mayers David Destruction Repaired and Destruction Anticipated United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration UNRRA the Atomic Bomb and US Policy 1944 6 International History Review 38 5 2016 pp 961 83 External links editAtomic Archive The Baruch Plan David J Holloway 2020 The Soviet Union and the Baruch Plan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Baruch Plan amp oldid 1173324097, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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