Executive Director John Tierney was interviewed in Truthout about the nuclear uncertainty under the incoming Trump administration.
Immediately after the U.S. election, Council For a Livable World, a nonpartisan organization that promotes policies to reduce nuclear weapons, identified nine goals for the incoming Trump administration, including demanding greater accountability over nuclear weapons modernization and systems considered “strategically questionable,” adhering to the New START Treaty, and upholding the taboo on explosive nuclear weapons tests.
The council’s executive director, John Tierney, told Truthout that he is concerned about how the Trump administration could respond to China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear forces.
“It’s ridiculous to think that the number of missiles and bombs that we have right now are not a suitable deterrent,” Tierney said. Currently, the U.S. has a total nuclear stockpile of around 3,700 warheads. Of these, approximately 1,770 warheads are deployed and available for delivery by strategic launchers. In comparison, China possesses an estimated stockpile of approximately 500 nuclear weapons.
Tierney is watching how the U.S. manages its own nuclear stockpile as it spends what could ultimately surpass $1.5 trillion to modernize an arsenal that includes Sentinel, a weapon system designed to replace the U.S.’s aging Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Tierney said that besides being grossly behind schedule and far over budget, Sentinel’s “very existence is an impediment to security.” Calling for closer scrutiny of the program, he described Sentinel as a “relic of the Cold War” which drains resources other programs more essential to U.S. security.
One area where Tierney sees potential for positive change is increased public engagement on nuclear weapons issues: “We’ve got to grab the public’s attention and give them the notion they can do something.” Without the public pressure that existed in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, Tierney said, nuclear treaties, agreements and norms wouldn’t have happened.
He sees a great need for a cultural shift that would introduce more music, books, movies, and other popular media, as well as more frequent reporting on nuclear issues. “It’s been a long time since Dr. Strangelove,” said Tierney. Read more
