Writing to Republicans about nuclear weapons:

Most, but by no means all, Republican Members of Congress want the US to maintain a strong military and to maintain its existing stockpile of nuclear weapons. But these are not necessarily compatible with each other.

  • If all countries (including the US) gave up their nuclear weapons, the US would still have by far the most powerful military in the world.
  • The existence of nuclear weapons makes the US more vulnerable to potential attack from even relatively small and insignificant countries (like North Korea).
  • Even a single, relatively small and crude nuclear detonation high above the United States mainland could potentially wreak havoc and devastation across the entire country.
  • The argument that we need nuclear weapons for our security merely encourages other countries to believe that they also need these weapons for their security.
  • The astronomical cost of nuclear weapons ($1.7 trillion over the next 30 years) means there is less money for other military programs and hardware. This makes the US weaker not stronger.
  • Nuclear weapons cannot be used without ending human civilization as we know it. They are pretty useless as weapons if they can’t actually be used to achieve a military objective.

Most Republican Members of Congress also care about other issues that can be linked to the need to eliminate nuclear weapons.

  • The US made a legally binding commitment in 1968 to negotiate “in good faith” the elimination of its nuclear arsenal. It gave an “unequivocal undertaking” in 2000 that it would fulfil that obligation. When are we going to make good on those promises?
  • The US Law of War Manual refers to the obligation of US servicemen and women to abide by international treaties when they represent international public opinion, even when the US does not itself sign a treaty.
  • It is one of the cardinal principles of international laws of war that civilians “must never be the object of attack.” So how does that square with the threat to destroy entire cities with nuclear weapons?