GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Carter's New World; Interview with Agha Shahi, 1987
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
02/07/1987
Agha Shahi was Pakistani Ambassador to the United Nations from 1967-1972, then Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1973-1982 (with a short break in between). In the interview he talks about Pakistan, the IAEA and the nonproliferation debates of the 1950s. While he was concerned about India, Israel, and South Africa on the latter score, he recalls a feeling of admiration at Chinas nuclear successes. This naturally contrasts sharply with his reactions to Indias 1974 test, which followed the signing of the troubling Indo-Soviet treaty of 1971. He briefly discusses Project 706, the Arab oil embargo and a number of other questions. Turning to the possibility of a Pakistani bomb, he questions the basis for CIA reports about Pakistans likely plans for such a device and denies that Prime Minister Bhutto ever sought an Islamic bomb. Discussing nonproliferation, he expresses his negative reactions to President Carters anti-proliferation efforts, and also explains that Pakistan declined to put all its nuclear facilities under safeguard because it was considered discriminatory not to make India, Israel or South Africa do the same. He notes that the effect of other countries pulling back on aid as a result made Islamabad decide that it had to become as self-reliant as possible in the area of nuclear technology. He goes on to describe the countrys process for enriching uranium, but denies there are grounds for Western concerns about developments in the country. The discussion then deals with the status of nuclear weapons and whether Pakistan has a deliberate policy of ambiguity about the field. Finally, he is ambivalent about the effectiveness of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying it can only be proven in the future.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Program
- Carter's New World
- Program Number
109
- Title
Interview with Agha Shahi, 1987
- Series Description
The first atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, changed the world forever. This series chronicles these changes and the history of a new era. It traces the development of nuclear weapons, the evolution of nuclear strategy, and the politics of a world with the power to destroy itself.
In thirteen one-hour programs that combine historic footage and recent interviews with key American, Soviet, and European participants, the nuclear age unfolds: the origin and evolution of nuclear weapons; the people of the past who have shaped the events of the present; the ideas and issues that political leaders, scientists, and the public at large must confront, and the prospects for the future. Nuclear Age highlights the profound changes in contemporary thinking imposed by the advent of nuclear weapons. Series release date: 1/1989
- Program Description
President Carter comes to office determined to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and to improve relations with the Soviet Union. His frustrations are as grand as his intentions.
Carter had hoped the United States and the Soviet Union would reduce their reliance on nuclear weapons. He stopped production of the B-1 bomber. He believed the SALT II negotiations would be a step toward eliminating nuclear weapons. But his intentions were frustrated by Soviet actions and by a lack of consensus among his own advisors, including Chief SALT II negotiator Paul Warnke and national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski (who was dubious about arms control). Carter balanced Soviet aggression in Africa by improving American relations with China. He withdrew SALT II treaty from Senate consideration but its terms continued to serve as general limits on strategic nuclear force levels for both the United States and the Soviet Union.
- Duration
01:39:38
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Gaulle, Charles de, 1890-1970
- Nuclear disarmament
- Israel
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- Pakistan
- International relations
- Canada
- Saudi Arabia
- United States
- Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968)
- Nuclear energy
- Kissinger, Henry, 1923-
- Vance, Cyrus R. (Cyrus Roberts), 1917-2002
- Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)
- United Nations
- United States. Nuclear Nonproliferation Act of 1978
- Goldschmidt, Bertrand
- Nuclear weapons
- South Africa
- Great Britain
- Khan, Munir Ahmad, 1926-1999
- Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
- Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
- Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali
- France
- China
- Iraq
- Giscard d'Estaing, Valery, 1926-
- Nuclear nonproliferation
- India
- Palestine
- Nuclear-weapon-free zones
- Qaddafi, Muammar
- Kosygin, Aleksey Nikolayevich, 1904-1980
- Libya
- Soviet Union
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- History
- War and Conflict
- Science
- Global Affairs
- Contributors
- Shahi, Agha (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Carter's New World; Interview with Agha Shahi, 1987,” 02/07/1987, GBH Archives, accessed April 20, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_439E2C6F584C4532B7F9B2A5DCBF5442.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Carter's New World; Interview with Agha Shahi, 1987.” 02/07/1987. GBH Archives. Web. April 20, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_439E2C6F584C4532B7F9B2A5DCBF5442>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Carter's New World; Interview with Agha Shahi, 1987. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_439E2C6F584C4532B7F9B2A5DCBF5442