nuclear-news

Time for USA to lead the retreat from the nuclear arms race

It is in America’s best interest to further this nuclear downsizing……. We ushered in the nuclear era 67 years ago. Now we must do our part to help the world find a safe exit.

Let’s usher out the nuclear era JTA Globe News Service for the Jewish People, Op-Ed: On Tisha b’Av, By Sandy Pappas · July 25, 2012 MINNEAPOLIS (JTA) — As July ends and we wind down the Three Weeks before Tisha b’Av, we mourn the destruction of both Holy Temples.
Unfortunately, this is not the only destruction that bears remembrance. This August marks the 67th anniversary of the only time that nuclear weapons were ever used in warfare. The United States tested the first nuclear weapon in July 1945 and dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and 9 that year.

These events spawned the nuclear race, with 2,056 nuclear weapons
tests conducted worldwide and new and more deadly weapons developed at
a fast and furious pace. At the peak of the Cold War there were some
70,000 nuclear weapons.

Even though the numbers of nuclear weapons have decreased since the
Cold War, enough of them are still around to blow up the planet.
Ninety percent of the weapons are in the United States and Russia.
America continues to rely on strategic plans, targeting and alert
status settings that were conceived during the Cold War. We also spend
billions of dollars each year to maintain our oversized arsenal.

In December 2010, the U.S. Senate approved the ratification of the New
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the support of our
military leadership and bipartisan support from 71 senators, including
all 13 Jewish senators in office at the time. New START reduced U.S.
and Russian nuclear arsenals and established a foundational process
for verifying these and future reductions.

It is in America’s best interest to further this nuclear downsizing……. We ushered in the nuclear era 67 years ago. Now we must do our part to help the world find a safe exit.

July 26, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general