(Washington,
D.C.)— Last night,
U.S. President Donald
Trump said he had
“instructed the
Department of War to
start testing our
Nuclear Weapons on an
equal basis. That
process will begin
immediately.”
In
response, ACA
Executive Director
Daryl G. Kimball
stated, “Trump appears
to be misinformed and
out of touch. The U.S.
has no technical,
military, or political
reason to resume
nuclear explosive
testing for the first
time since 1992, when
a bipartisan majority
of the U.S. Congress
mandated a nuclear
test moratorium. It
would take, at least,
36 months to resume
contained nuclear
testing underground at
the former Nevada
Nuclear Test Site
outside Las Vegas.”
The
United States has
conducted 1,030
nuclear test
explosions since 1945,
which is the majority
of all 2,056 nuclear
test explosions
worldwide.
Brandon
Williams, current NNSA
administrator, said
the following during
his confirmation
hearing earlier this
year: "we collected
more data than anyone
else. And it is
precisely that data
that has underpinned
our scientific basis
for confirming the
stockpile. I would not
advise … testing.”
In
Williams’ response to
written questions from
Congress, he said:
"The United States
continues to observe
its 1992 nuclear test
moratorium; and, since
1992, has assessed
that the deployed
nuclear stockpile
remains safe,
secure, and effective
without nuclear
explosive testing."
“Today, 187 states
-- nearly all the
world’s nations,
including the five
largest nuclear
powers--have
signed the 1996
Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty and as a
signatory to the
treaty, the United
States is legally
obligated to respect
it. No country, except
North Korea, has
conducted a nuclear
test explosion in this
century, and even they
have stopped.” he
said.
“By foolishly
announcing his
intention to resume
nuclear testing, Trump
will trigger strong
international
opposition that could
unleash a chain
reaction of nuclear
testing by U.S.
adversaries, and blow
apart the nuclear
Nonproliferation
Treaty,” Kimball
stressed.
Although
Trump stated that he
was ordering the
resumption of testing,
“because of other
countries testing
programs,” Moscow
immediately denied any
nuclear testing by
Russia.
Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry
Peskov suggested that
Trump was perhaps
referring to
announcements of the
testing of Russia’s
new nuclear-powered
cruise missile
Burevestnik and
nuclear-capable super
torpedo Poseidon, and
told reporters “if
somehow the
Burevestnik tests are
being implied, this is
not a nuclear test.”
"Accusations
that Russia and China
may have conducted
super-critical nuclear
weapons tests are
unsubstantiated and
highly-debatable, and
such test provide
little value for
advancing the
capabilities of their
nuclear programs. Such
concerns are far
better dealt with by
ratifying the CTBT and
securing the option
for short-notice
on-site inspections
and/or other forms of
confidence-building
measures,” Kimball
said.
“Trump’s
nuclear policy is
incoherent and
unclear: calling for
denuclearization talks
one day; threatening
nuclear tests the
next. But what is
clear: U.S. resumption
of nuclear testing or
reckless words and
actions that trigger a
nuclear testing chain
reaction harm U.S.
security,” Kimball
said.
A
list of resources on
the Comprehensive Test
Ban Treaty (CTBT),
effects of nuclear
weapons testing in the
past, and a recent
civil society
statement to the 14th
article XIV conference
on Facilitating Entry
into Force of the CTBT
are below.
