On January 3rd of this year, the five nuclear-armed states with the largest nuclear arsenals issued a joint statement declaring that they "consider the avoidance of war between Nuclear-Weapon States and the reduction of strategic risks as our foremost responsibilities." The statement goes on to "affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."
As the Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists stands at 100 seconds to midnight – "the closest it has ever been to civilization-ending apocalypse" – this statement would appear to be good news for the world.
However, all five of the signatories to the statement are currently engaged in maintaining powerful nuclear arsenals. Not only are these far larger than what would be required to destroy human civilization, and possibly most life on earth, but also these nations are planning huge expenditures to upgrade the "usability" and lethality of those arsenals.
Continue reading “To Nuclear-Armed States: Nice Talk, Now Walk the Walk”