PURSUING

hortly after the September 11 clear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) program has now been terrorist attacks on Amer- cancelled, the administration is pursuing a plan, labeled ica, Under-Secretary- the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW), which will General for the United Na- see the development of a range of new nuclear bombs tions (UN) Disarmament Affairs to replace all weapons currently in the arsenal. It is Jayantha Dhanapala highlighted likely that, over the long run, nuclear testing will be nec- the link between preventing nu- essary for the RRW program. 6 clear terrorism and nuclear disar- mament: “we need to eliminate weapons of mass de- The ’ proposed option to use nuclear 1 struction before they fall into the hands of terrorists.” weapons against non- states and for purposes other than retaliation Thus, while the U.S. works with the international com- blurs the distinction between nu- munity to secure more quickly all nuclear weapons clear and conventional warfare. and bomb-making material worldwide, we must also The U.S. government cannot con- realize that a comprehensive approach to prevention tinue to tell other nations, like includes reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons and , that nuclear and materials from global stockpiles. Indeed, even proliferation is wrong while it pur- before 9/11, signors of the Nuclear Nonproliferation of sues new and more “usable” nu- Treaty (NPT), including the United States, agreed that clear weapons here at home. As a “the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only Salt Lake City Tribune editorial put absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of it, “If the United States, which nuclear weapons.” 2 This sentiment is well supported commands the most powerful con- Polaris C4 being launched from the by the American public. In a March 2003 poll, two- ventional and nuclear arsenal on USS Henry Stimson thirds of respondents said that no nation should have Earth, continues to develop new nuclear weapons, including the United States.3 nuclear weapons, other nations can hardly be faulted for deciding that they need nuclear weapons also, if 7 U.S. Leadership Needed only to deter the United States.” To accomplish this goal, the United States must lead other nations in taking steps to diminish the role of Conclusions and Recommendations nuclear weapons in national security policy and Regrettably, far from helping to marginalize the role of strengthening international treaties designed to curb nuclear weapons in international security, “the Bush the spread of nuclear weapons. As former Assistant Administration has signaled that it is committed to Secretary of Defense Dr. Graham Allison has said, a keeping the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a mainstay of its sound strategy for preventing would military power—a commitment that erodes the interna- require the United States and all nuclear weapon tional norms that have limited the spread of nuclear states to rethink their nuclear postures and weapons and fissile materials for 50 years.”8 On its cur- “marginalize nuclear weapons from any role in interna- rent course, the United States holds little credibility tional security.”4 when trying to convince other countries to not pursue these weapons. The contradiction of the current U.S. The Current Course of U.S. Policy nuclear weapons policy is not missed by other nations, Unfortunately, current U.S. nuclear weapons policy is as Republican lawmaker Representative David Hobson headed in the wrong direction. Nuclear weapons not stated: “We have more nuclear weapons now than we only continue to have a central role in U.S. policy but know what to do with…I’m concerned about our image the administration is pushing to develop new ones. in the world when we're telling others not to build these 9 For example, the 2002 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review things, and then we push these new programs." (NPR) outlined contingencies where the United States might use nuclear weapons against seven countries - China, , Iraq, North Korea, Iran, and If we are to truly succeed in preventing nuclear terror- Syria.5 The NPR also suggested the need for develop- ism, the United States must lead by example with poli- ing a new generation of nuclear bombs to be inte- cies that help prevent the spread grated into U.S. war-fighting strategy for use other and use of nuclear weapons. than for deterrence and even against countries that do not possess nuclear weapons. While the Robust Nu- PURSUING DISARMAMENT

Specifically the United States should: • Strengthening the nonproliferation role of the (IAEA) by providing it with more power and resources to carry-out Help Reduce the Importance of Nuclear Weapons by: its work.

• Renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons; NOTES • Renouncing the use of nuclear weapons in retaliation 1. , World Chronicle, September 2001. for chemical and biological weapons attacks, as a pol- icy of nuclear retaliation gives states possessing 2. , Secretary-General’s Message to the Forty-Fifth General Con- ference of The International Atomic Energy Agency, 17 September 2001, chemical and biological weapons an incentive to ac- available at http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2001/note156.html quire nuclear weapons as well, because the punish- (accessed July 8, 2005) ment is the same for both types of proliferation; 3. Will Lester, “Poll: Most in US Oppose Nuclear Weapons,” The Associated Press, March 31, 2003. • Abandoning research and development of new nu- clear weapons and keeping the moratorium on nuclear 4. Graham Allison, Nuclear Terrorism: the Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe weapons testing; (2004), 205. 5. Paul Richter, “U.S. Works Up Plan for Using Nuclear Arms” the Los Ange- les Times, March 9, 2002; and Michael Gordon, “U.S. Nuclear Plan Sees Lead the World in Strengthening Multilateral Non- New Weapons and New Targets,” the New York Times, March 10, 2002. Proliferation Regimes by: 6. “Dr. Strangelove” Reborn: An Overview of the U.S. Nuclear Posture Re- view,” PSR Fact Sheet, May 2002, http://www.psr.org/documents/ • Ratifying and implementing the Comprehensive Test psr_doc_0/program_4/strangelove1.pdf. Ban Treaty (CTBT) and putting diplomatic pressure on 7. Salt Lake City Tribune, June 6, 2003. others to sign and ratify; 8. Robert McNamara, “Apocalypse Soon,” Foreign Policy (May/June 2005), 29. • Enhancing global controls on fissile materials by quickly negotiating and adopting the Fissile Materials 9. Representative David Hobson (R-OH), Chairman of the House Appropria- Control Treaty (FMCT), increasing security for stocks tions Committee's Energy and Water Subcommittee, Quoted in Global of already existing fissile materials, gradually transfer- Security Newswire, “Republican Lawmakers Denounce U.S. Nuclear ring them to civilian control under International Atomic Weapon Development,” December 8, 2003. Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

Promote Effective and Verifiable Nuclear Disarmament by:

• Negotiating deep cuts in strategic weapons and elimi- nating tactical nu- clear weapons alto- gether by improving and building upon the Strategic Offen- sive Reductions (SORT) Treaty; 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite 1012 • Leading all nuclear WE-177 Tactical Nuclear Weapon Washington, DC 20009 weapon states in meeting their legal 202-667-4260 obligation under article VI of the NPT of pursuing nu- http://www.psr.org clear disarmament in good faith by setting up a timeta- ble for reducing nuclear arsenal to zero; 2006