Bloomberg View today published an op-ed by Ernest J. Moniz and Sam Nunn that calls on the United States and the other nuclear weapons states to take immediate action to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident, mistake or miscalculation.
In addition, the Nuclear Threat Initiative published six related policy papers that together provide an alternative vision and roadmap for America’s nuclear policy and posture and a template for Congress and the American people to evaluate the Trump Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR).
More details can be found below.
Moniz-Nunn Op-ed in Bloomberg View, February 1, 2018
“The world has crossed over to a new nuclear era, where a fateful error — rather than intentional aggression — is the most likely catalyst to nuclear catastrophe.
“American leaders have been warned more than once of incoming Russian missiles — in each case, it was a false alarm resulting from technical or human error. Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin was mistakenly alerted to a possible U.S. missile strike after the launch of a Norwegian scientific rocket.
“After every incident, we deceive ourselves that we can solve the problem with better technology and training — or we reassure ourselves that the combination of diligence and good luck we experienced during the Cold War will continue. But do we really believe we can prevent a nuclear catastrophe indefinitely in a world with nine states with nuclear weapons and significant suspicion and hostility in many of their mutual relationships?”
Read the entire op-ed here, and find NTI’s policy papers published today here.
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New START, the last remaining arms control treaty capping U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, expires on February 5. This marks the beginning of a dangerous new era. For the first time in several decades, there will be no limits on nuclear weapons, less visibility into Russian nuclear weapons activities, and fewer tools to manage a crisis between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
NTI encourages the United States and the Russian Federation to continue to abide by New START’s limits on intercontinental-range nuclear weapons past its scheduled expiration on February 5, 2026.
Participants examined how NWFZs can be productive geopolitical tools amid mounting challenges, including great power competition, disruptive technologies, and a weakening global nonproliferation and disarmament architecture.
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