CHICAGO — With a United Nations treaty banning nuclear weapons now in effect, Illinois advocates for peace are renewing conversations about U.S. disarmament policy. A panel discussion with experts took place last week, with a car caravan for peace over the weekend.
Not a single nation with nuclear weapons ratified the international agreement, although more than 50 non-nuclear states did.
Frustration with lack in nuclear disarmament progress
Laura Grego, a senior Global Security Program scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said non-governmental organizations and non-nuclear states have frustration with the lack of progress toward disarmament.
She argues many U.S. nuclear policies are artifacts of the Cold War. They could be changed to reduce the risk of accidental unauthorized launches.
“The U.S. might not be ready to sign the ban treaty,” Grego acknowledges. “It’s really an effort to be creative about moving toward disarmament goals.”
Grego points to a bill that would require a declaration of war by Congress before the president can order a nuclear-weapons launch. She would further add that the U.S. should consider taking missiles off high-alert status. Therefore, it would reserve their use exclusively for deterrence or response to a nuclear attack, in consultation with allies.
Nukes, military intersect with injustice
Tara Drozdenko, acting Outrider Foundation executive director, said there are many ways nuclear weapons and the military intersect with injustice.
She asserts weapons programs disproportionately impact marginalized communities. For example, uranium mining on the Navajo reservation results in land and groundwater contamination. As a result, the contamination is affecting health outcomes.
“I think it’s important for us to start reckoning with that, and re-articulating what it means to be secure,” Drozdenko contended. “And also thinking about whose security we prioritize, and how we spend our money to make all Americans secure, not just some of us secure.”
One of the first foreign-policy actions of the Biden administration is extending the New START treaty for five years. It is currently the last remaining nuclear weapons treaty between the U.S. and Russia.
Reporting by Lily Bohlke
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