Source: Carnegie
BEYOND ARMS CONTROL
How to Deal with Nuclear Weapons
Policy Brief No. 23
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Summary
Nuclear arms control is often considered not worth the effort now that the
Cold War is over. But the nuclear threat is anything but over. Several thousand
strategic nuclear weapons remain on hair-trigger alert in U.S. and Russian arsenals.
Many more are insecurely stored. Though the arms control problem needs to be
faced by both countries, neither one has the stomach for another Cold War-style,
500-page treaty like START I. The new model is the 2002 Moscow Treaty-a simple,
3-page commitment to reduction. Such short treaties now make sense because both
countries have many ways to know what is going on inside each other's nuclear
arsenal. START I is still very important, but it is no longer the only tool
in the box. Today, Washington and Moscow can relegate such cumbersome negotiated
treaties to a few essential fronts and pursue exciting, innovative reduction
efforts involving scientific and technical cooperation.
About the Author
Rose Gottemoeller is senior associate in the Endowment's
Russian and Eurasian Program. Before joining the Endowment, she served in
the U.S. Department of Energy in several positions, most recently as deputy
undersecretary for defense nuclear non-proliferation. She is the author of Enhancing
Nuclear Security in the Counter-Terrorism Struggle: India and Pakistan as a
New Region for Cooperation (Carnegie Endowment Working Paper No. 29).
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