President Must Match Actions to Words on Nuclear
Weapons
Nuclear weapons are a liability, not an asset. Not only do they not protect
us from current threats like terrorism, but with some 20,000 warheads around
the globe, there is enormous risk for accidents or for them to fall into the
wrong hands.
President Obama’s compelling speech in Prague in April calling for “an end
to Cold War thinking” and this week’s initial agreement with Russian
President Medvedev on nuclear arsenal reductions are positive steps toward
reducing the nuclear threat. However, much more must happen to truly
transform U.S. nuclear weapons policy, and those who are stuck in a Cold War
mindset will fight against the necessary changes every step of the way.
Right now, the Department of Defense is conducting a comprehensive “Nuclear
Posture Review” that will determine whether we will have more Cold War
thinking or truly transformational change. Write to President Obama, as well
as key administration officials, urging him to take advantage of this
opportunity to set a new, safer direction for U.S. nuclear weapons policy.
LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA:Dear President Obama,
I applaud your strong and visible leadership in reducing the threat posed by
nuclear weapons. I was particularly pleased that in Prague you called for
“an end to Cold War thinking” and declared “we will reduce the role of
nuclear weapons in our national security strategy.”
To realize that goal, I urge you to become personally involved in your
administration’s Nuclear Posture Review to ensure that it makes the needed
changes in U.S. policy.
First, the review should clarify that the United States maintains nuclear
weapons for the sole purpose of deterring the use of nuclear weapons by
another country against the United States or its allies.
Second, the United States should remove its weapons from hair-trigger alert,
which allows them to be launched within a matter of minutes. This opens the
door to devastating accidents, which is simply unacceptable. The United
States should make Russia aware of this new policy, and urge it to make
similar changes in its policy and practices.
Finally, in the next nuclear reductions agreement with Russia, the United
States should seek to limit the total number of nuclear warheads, including
those in storage, to 1,000.
You already recognize that nuclear weapons are a global liability. Please
continue your strong leadership in charting a new direction in U.S. nuclear
weapons policy that moves us closer to your vision of a nuclear weapons free
world.
cc: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
National Security Advisor James Jones
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S.
science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a
safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C. To subscribe or
visit go to: http://www.ucsusa.org
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