95 scientists call on U.S. to reduce nuclear stockpile
Friday, April 18, 2008
Winston-Salem Journal
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173355314011&path=!nationworld&s=1037645509161
A proposal to cut the U.S. nuclear-weapons stockpile sharply and renounce
the first use of the bombs was offered yesterday by 95 scientists who are
members of the National Academy of Sciences.
The group, mostly physicists at major U.S. universities who collectively
have won 23 Nobel prizes, said the weapons program is undermining the
nation's security. The group, organized by the Union of Concerned
Scientists, called for the U.S. to cut its weapons inventory to 1,000 bombs,
from an estimated 4,500 to 6,000 currently, and to end the capability to
launch missiles in only minutes.
The list includes Richard Garwin, a designer of the nation's first hydrogen
bomb.
UCS Press Release April 17, 2008
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/scientists-call-on-next-presid-0109.html
Scientists Call on Next President to Take Unilateral Steps to Reduce Nuclear
Weapons Threat, Set World On Path Toward Prohibition
Twenty-three Nobel Lauretes Among Signers
Link Set
Scientists' Statement on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
WASHINGTON (April 17, 2008) - Ninety-five prominent scientists today called
on the next president to reform our country's nuclear weapons policy to
reflect post-Cold War realities. They recommended a number of practical,
unilateral steps that the White House could take to enhance national
security and lay the groundwork for a world without nuclear weapons.
Organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the "Scientists
Statement on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy" was signed by many of the nation's
most distinguished physicists. Ninety-one of the signers are members of the
National Academy of Sciences and collectively have won 23 Nobel Prizes and
10 National Medals of Science.
"Without bold U.S. leadership, our country and the world will face a new and
more dangerous era in which it is likely many more nations -- and possibly
terrorists -- will possess nuclear weapons," said Kurt Gottfried, UCS
co-founder and board chair, and emeritus professor of physics at Cornell
University. "The United States must lead by example and de-legitimize
nuclear weapons as instruments of security policy and military power."
The statement includes several unilateral policy initiatives that would
strengthen U.S. security by lowering the risk of nuclear proliferation,
nuclear terrorism, or a Russian nuclear attack. These include declaring a no
first-use policy; rejecting and replacing current "hair-trigger"
rapid-launch options; ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; reducing
the U.S. nuclear arsenal to 1,000 warheads, including deployed and reserve
warheads; committing the United States to reducing its number of nuclear
weapons below 1,000 on a negotiated and verified bilateral or multilateral
basis; and reaffirming the U.S. commitment to pursue nuclear disarmament as
required under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"The steps outlined in this statement will make the United States and the
world safer," said Steven Weinberg, a Nobel Laureate in physics and one of
the signatories. "If pursued, these practical steps will provide credible
U.S. leadership toward a world with fewer risks from existing nuclear
arsenals and effective approaches to reducing the threats of nuclear
proliferation and nuclear terrorism."
The scientists' statement comes at a time when an increasing number of
national leaders have concluded that the United States would be far safer if
it changed its nuclear weapons policy. For example, former secretaries of
state George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Defense William
Perry and former Sen. Sam Nunn have called on the U.S. government to lead an
international effort to move toward "a world free of nuclear weapons."
Members of Congress, too, are joining the chorus. "Nuclear weapons-like
global warming-represent a grave and growing threat to human civilization,"
said Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), a physicist and arms control expert. "Today,
these scientists have issued an urgent call to action that should be
heeded."
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/nuclear_weapons/nuclearstatement.html?print=t
Union of Concerned Scientists
Citizens and Scientists for Environmental Solutions
www.ucsusa.org
U.S. nuclear weapons policy
Scientists' Statement on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
Toward True Security April 2008
The United States must profoundly change its nuclear weapons policy to
reflect the realities of today's world, and future challenges to the
nation's security. Indeed, the United States can proactively shape its
nuclear future, rather than anticipate the worst and hedge against it.
Unfortunately, the United States is headed in the wrong direction: its
nuclear weapons policy threatens its own security, and that of other
nations. Their responses, in turn, will further undermine U.S. security.
By maintaining thousands of highly accurate nuclear weapons on alert, the
United States perpetuates the only threat that could destroy it as a
functioning society: a large-scale attack by Russia launched either without
authorization, by accident, or by mistake because of a false warning of an
incoming U.S. attack.
By giving nuclear weapons so large and visible a role in U.S. policy, and by
planning to maintain and even upgrade its nuclear arsenal indefinitely, the
United States has increased the incentive for other nations to acquire
nuclear weapons, and reduced the political costs to them of doing so. The
United States has further bolstered this incentive by threatening to use
nuclear weapons against states that do not possess them.
By contributing to a climate in which possessing nuclear weapons is
legitimate, the United States has also undermined the ability of the
international community to prevent more states from acquiring them. And
while the political barriers to acquiring these weapons are crumbling,
technical barriers are also falling. The world could soon face a spate of
new nuclear weapons states.
Indeed, during the past decade, several nations have crossed the nuclear
threshold by testing nuclear weapons, or are now suspected of having nuclear
weapons programs. Some of these states are politically unstable, increasing
the risks that these weapons will be used, and that terrorists will acquire
nuclear weapons.
The world will stay on this course as long as the United States and the
other nuclear powers -Britain, China, France, and Russia-assume that nuclear
weapons are essential to their security. To avoid a new and more dangerous
nuclear era, these states must drastically reduce the role that nuclear
weapons play in their security policies. The United States can, and should,
take the lead in promoting an effort to clear the path to a world free of
nuclear weapons.
There is no plausible threat over the next decade or beyond that requires
the United States to maintain more than a few hundred survivable nuclear
weapons. There is also no military reason to link the size of U.S. nuclear
forces to those of other countries. Nor does any plausible threat require
the United States to retain the ability to launch nuclear weapons in a
matter of minutes, or even hours.
Four of the most seasoned architects of U.S. national security policy-George
Shultz, Secretary of State under President Reagan; William Perry, Secretary
of Defense under President Clinton; Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State
under Presidents Nixon and Ford; and Sam Nunn, former Senator from
Georgia-have forcefully articulated the need for a new approach. They argue
that the United States should embrace the goal of a "world free of nuclear
weapons" as a vital contribution to preventing more nations, and eventually
terrorists, from acquiring nuclear weapons.[1]
In short, it is time for a change.
The next president should bring U.S. nuclear weapons policy into line with
today's political and strategic realities by taking 10 critical, unilateral
steps. These steps are practical and pragmatic: they would increase U.S.
security by decreasing the risks of a Russian nuclear attack, nuclear
proliferation, and nuclear terrorism. These steps would also lay the
groundwork for a world without nuclear weapons, and enable the United States
to lead other nations in that direction:
1. Declare that the sole purpose of U.S. nuclear weapons is to deter and, if
necessary, respond to the use of nuclear weapons by another country.
2. Reject rapid-launch options by changing its deployment practices to allow
the launch of nuclear forces in days rather than minutes.
3. Eliminate preset targeting plans, and replace them with the capability to
promptly develop a response tailored to the situation if nuclear weapons are
used against the United States, its armed forces, or its allies.
4. Promptly and unilaterally reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal to no more than
1,000 warheads, including deployed and reserve warheads. The United States
would declare all warheads above this level to be in excess of its military
needs, move them into storage, begin dismantling them in a manner
transparent to the international community, and begin disposing-under
international safeguards-of all plutonium and highly enriched uranium beyond
that required to maintain these 1,000 warheads. By making the endpoint of
this dismantlement process dependent on Russia's response, the United States
would encourage Russia to reciprocate.
5. Halt all programs for developing and deploying new nuclear weapons,
including the proposed Reliable Replacement Warhead.
6. Promptly and unilaterally retire all U.S. nonstrategic nuclear weapons,
dismantling them in a transparent manner, and take steps to induce Russia to
do the same.
7. Announce a U.S. commitment to reducing its number of nuclear weapons
further, on a negotiated and verified bilateral or multilateral basis.
8. Commit to not resume nuclear testing, and work with the Senate to ratify
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
9. Halt further deployment of the Ground-Based Missile Defense, and drop any
plans for space-based missile defense. The deployment of a U.S. missile
defense system that Russia or China believed could intercept a significant
portion of its survivable long-range missile forces would be an obstacle to
deep nuclear cuts. A U.S. missile defense system could also trigger
reactions by these nations that would result in a net decrease in U.S.
security.
10. Reaffirm the U.S. commitment to pursue nuclear disarmament, and present
a specific plan for moving toward that goal, in recognition of the fact that
a universal and verifiable prohibition on nuclear weapons would enhance both
national and international security.
If the next president takes these steps, the United States will have greatly
enhanced national and international security, while also setting the stage
for negotiations to reduce the nuclear arsenals of other countries. Together
with these nations, the United States can then tackle the challenges
entailed in negotiating and implementing verifiable, multilateral reductions
to levels well below 1,000 nuclear warheads-thereby laying the groundwork
for an eventual worldwide prohibition on nuclear weapons.
List of Signatories
* = Nobel Prize
+ = National Medal of Science
# = Member, National Academy of Sciences
Organizational affiliations listed for identification purposes only.
Elihu Abrahams #
Director, Center for Materials Theory, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Rutgers University
Alexei A. Abrikosov * #
Distinguished Argonne Scientist, Argonne National Laboratory
Eric Adelberger #
Professor of Physics, University of Washington
Stephen Adler #
Professor, Institute for Advanced Study
Guenther Ahlers #
Professor, Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Philip W. Anderson * + #
Joseph Henry Professor of Physics, Princeton University
David Arnett #
Regents Professor of Astrophysics, University of Arizona
Gordon Baym #
George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor of Engineering; Center for
Advanced Study Professor of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Roger Blandford #
Pehong and Adele Chen Director, Kavli Institute of Particle Astrophysics and
Cosmology, Luke Blossom Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences,
Stanford University
Lewis M. Branscomb #
Aetna Professor in Public Policy and Corporate Management, Emeritus; Harvard
University, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Richard G. Brewer #
Consulting Professor of Applied Physics, Stanford University
David M. Ceperley #
Professor of Physics, Founder Professor of Engineering, NCSA Staff
scientist, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Marshall H. Cohen #
Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus, California Institute of Technology
Stirling A. Colgate #
Senior Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Eugene D. Commins #
Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
Leon Cooper * #
Thomas J. Watson Sr., Professor of Science; Director, Institute for Brain
and Neural Systems, Brown University
Stanley Deser #
Ancell Professor of Physics, Brandeis University, and Visiting Associate in
Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology
Bruce T. Draine #
Professor, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University
Freeman Dyson #
Professor Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study
Michael E. Fisher #
Distinguished University Professor and Regents Professor, University of
Maryland
Hans Frauenfelder #
Director, Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Lab
Jerome I. Friedman * #
Institute Professor and Professor of Physics Emeritus, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Gerald Gabrielse #
George Vasmer Leverett Professor of Physics, Harvard University
Mary K. Gaillard #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
Richard L. Garwin + #
Fellow Emeritus, IBM Corporation
Howard Georgi #
Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics; Harvard College Professor, Harvard
University
Sheldon L. Glashow * #
Arthur Metcalf Professor of the Sciences, Boston University
Marvin Goldberger #
President Emeritus, California Institute of Technology
David J. Gross * #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Martin Gutzwiller #
IBM Research Emeritus, Adjunct Professor of Yale University
Willy Haeberli #
Professor of Physics Emeritus and Senior Scientist, University of Wisconsin
Erwin L. Hahn #
Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
John L. Hall * #
Fellow Adjoint of JILA and Professor Adjoint of Physics, University of
Colorado
Bertrand I. Halperin #
Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy, Harvard University
Carl Heiles #
Professor of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley
Ernest Henley #
Professor Emeritus, University of Washington
Pierre Hohenberg #
Professor of Physics, Senior Vice Provost for Research, New York University
J. David Jackson #
Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
Leo P. Kadanoff + #
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor of
Physics and Mathematics, Emeritus University of Chicago
Wolfgang Ketterle * #
John D. MacArthur Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
H. Jeff Kimble #
William L. Valentine Professor and Professor of Physics, California
Institute of Technology
Ivan King #
Research Professor, University of Washington and Professor of Astronomy
Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
Toichiro Kinoshita #
Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics Emeritus, Cornell University
Daniel Kleppner + #
Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Walter Kohn * #
Research Professor of Physics and Chemistry, University of California, Santa
Barbara
Lawrence Krauss
Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics, Professor of Astronomy, and Director,
Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics, Case
Western Reserve University
James Langer #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Leon M. Lederman * + #
Director Emeritus of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Pritzker
Professor of Science at Illinois Institute of Technology
David M. Lee * #
Professor, Low Temperature Physics, Cornell University
Sir Anthony J. Leggett * #
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor and Center for Advanced Study
Professor of Physics University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Tom C. Lubensky #
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania
Paul C. Martin #
John H. Van Vleck Professor of Pure and Applied Physics, Harvard University
Christopher F. McKee #
Professor of Physics and of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley
N. David Mermin #
Horace White Professor of Physics Emeritus, Cornell University
Albert Narath
Former President and Director, Sandia National Laboratories
Jerry E. Nelson #
Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa
Cruz
Douglas D. Osheroff * #
Professor of Physics and Applied Physics, Stanford University
Eugene N. Parker + #
S. Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Departments of
Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago
Arno Penzias * #
New Enterprise Associates
Martin L. Perl * #
Professor, Stanford University
David Pines #
Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of California, Davis
Robert O. Pohl #
Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics Emeritus, Cornell University
Joseph Polchinski #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
H. David Politzer *
Richard Chace Tolman Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute
of Technology
David E. Pritchard #
Cecil & Ida Green Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Helen R. Quinn #
Professor of Physics, Stanford University
Norman F. Ramsey * + #
Higgins Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Harvard University
Burton Richter * #
Paul Pigott Professor of Physical Sciences Emeritus, Stanford University
Vera C. Rubin + #
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Malvin A. Ruderman #
Centennial Professor of Physics and Professor of Applied Physics, Columbia
University
Edwin E. Salpeter #
James Gilbert White Distinguished Professor of the Physical Sciences,
Emeritus, Cornell University
Myriam P. Sarachik #
Distinguished Professor of Physics, City College of New York, CUNY
John H. Schwarz #
Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute of
Technology
Andrew Sessler #
Distinguished Emeritus Scientist and Distinguished Director Emeritus,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Y. Ron Shen #
Professor of Physics, University of California Berkeley
Melvyn J. Shochet #
Kersten Distinguished Service Professor of Physics, University of Chicago
David Spergel #
Charles Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation,
Princeton University
Charles Steidel #
Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
Horst Stormer * #
Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics, Columbia University
Leonard Susskind #
Felix Bloch Professor of Physics, Stanford University
Saul Teukolsky #
Hans A. Bethe Professor of Physics and Astrophysics, Cornell University
Maury Tigner #
Hans A. Bethe Professor of Physics Emeritus, Cornell University
Charles H. Townes * + #
University Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Scott Tremaine #
Richard Black Professor of Astrophysics, Institute for Advanced Study
George H. Trilling #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
J. Anthony Tyson #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Davis
George Wallerstein
Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus, University of Washington
Steven Weinberg * + #
Professor of Physics, University of Texas at Austin
Rainer Weiss #
Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ray J. Weymann #
Staff Member & Director Emeritus, Carnegie Observatories, Carnegie
Institution of Washington
Frank Wilczek * #
Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert Wilson * #
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Bruce Winstein #
Samuel K. Allison Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Physics,
University of Chicago
Lincoln Wolfenstein #
University Professor of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University
Bruno Zumino #
Professor, University of California Berkeley
Note
1. George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger and Sam Nunn, "A
World Free of Nuclear Weapons," Wall Street Journal, January 4, 2007, p.
A15.
Winston-Salem Journal
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173355314011&path=!nationworld&s=1037645509161
A proposal to cut the U.S. nuclear-weapons stockpile sharply and renounce
the first use of the bombs was offered yesterday by 95 scientists who are
members of the National Academy of Sciences.
The group, mostly physicists at major U.S. universities who collectively
have won 23 Nobel prizes, said the weapons program is undermining the
nation's security. The group, organized by the Union of Concerned
Scientists, called for the U.S. to cut its weapons inventory to 1,000 bombs,
from an estimated 4,500 to 6,000 currently, and to end the capability to
launch missiles in only minutes.
The list includes Richard Garwin, a designer of the nation's first hydrogen
bomb.
UCS Press Release April 17, 2008
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/scientists-call-on-next-presid-0109.html
Scientists Call on Next President to Take Unilateral Steps to Reduce Nuclear
Weapons Threat, Set World On Path Toward Prohibition
Twenty-three Nobel Lauretes Among Signers
Link Set
Scientists' Statement on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
WASHINGTON (April 17, 2008) - Ninety-five prominent scientists today called
on the next president to reform our country's nuclear weapons policy to
reflect post-Cold War realities. They recommended a number of practical,
unilateral steps that the White House could take to enhance national
security and lay the groundwork for a world without nuclear weapons.
Organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the "Scientists
Statement on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy" was signed by many of the nation's
most distinguished physicists. Ninety-one of the signers are members of the
National Academy of Sciences and collectively have won 23 Nobel Prizes and
10 National Medals of Science.
"Without bold U.S. leadership, our country and the world will face a new and
more dangerous era in which it is likely many more nations -- and possibly
terrorists -- will possess nuclear weapons," said Kurt Gottfried, UCS
co-founder and board chair, and emeritus professor of physics at Cornell
University. "The United States must lead by example and de-legitimize
nuclear weapons as instruments of security policy and military power."
The statement includes several unilateral policy initiatives that would
strengthen U.S. security by lowering the risk of nuclear proliferation,
nuclear terrorism, or a Russian nuclear attack. These include declaring a no
first-use policy; rejecting and replacing current "hair-trigger"
rapid-launch options; ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; reducing
the U.S. nuclear arsenal to 1,000 warheads, including deployed and reserve
warheads; committing the United States to reducing its number of nuclear
weapons below 1,000 on a negotiated and verified bilateral or multilateral
basis; and reaffirming the U.S. commitment to pursue nuclear disarmament as
required under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"The steps outlined in this statement will make the United States and the
world safer," said Steven Weinberg, a Nobel Laureate in physics and one of
the signatories. "If pursued, these practical steps will provide credible
U.S. leadership toward a world with fewer risks from existing nuclear
arsenals and effective approaches to reducing the threats of nuclear
proliferation and nuclear terrorism."
The scientists' statement comes at a time when an increasing number of
national leaders have concluded that the United States would be far safer if
it changed its nuclear weapons policy. For example, former secretaries of
state George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Defense William
Perry and former Sen. Sam Nunn have called on the U.S. government to lead an
international effort to move toward "a world free of nuclear weapons."
Members of Congress, too, are joining the chorus. "Nuclear weapons-like
global warming-represent a grave and growing threat to human civilization,"
said Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), a physicist and arms control expert. "Today,
these scientists have issued an urgent call to action that should be
heeded."
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/nuclear_weapons/nuclearstatement.html?print=t
Union of Concerned Scientists
Citizens and Scientists for Environmental Solutions
www.ucsusa.org
U.S. nuclear weapons policy
Scientists' Statement on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
Toward True Security April 2008
The United States must profoundly change its nuclear weapons policy to
reflect the realities of today's world, and future challenges to the
nation's security. Indeed, the United States can proactively shape its
nuclear future, rather than anticipate the worst and hedge against it.
Unfortunately, the United States is headed in the wrong direction: its
nuclear weapons policy threatens its own security, and that of other
nations. Their responses, in turn, will further undermine U.S. security.
By maintaining thousands of highly accurate nuclear weapons on alert, the
United States perpetuates the only threat that could destroy it as a
functioning society: a large-scale attack by Russia launched either without
authorization, by accident, or by mistake because of a false warning of an
incoming U.S. attack.
By giving nuclear weapons so large and visible a role in U.S. policy, and by
planning to maintain and even upgrade its nuclear arsenal indefinitely, the
United States has increased the incentive for other nations to acquire
nuclear weapons, and reduced the political costs to them of doing so. The
United States has further bolstered this incentive by threatening to use
nuclear weapons against states that do not possess them.
By contributing to a climate in which possessing nuclear weapons is
legitimate, the United States has also undermined the ability of the
international community to prevent more states from acquiring them. And
while the political barriers to acquiring these weapons are crumbling,
technical barriers are also falling. The world could soon face a spate of
new nuclear weapons states.
Indeed, during the past decade, several nations have crossed the nuclear
threshold by testing nuclear weapons, or are now suspected of having nuclear
weapons programs. Some of these states are politically unstable, increasing
the risks that these weapons will be used, and that terrorists will acquire
nuclear weapons.
The world will stay on this course as long as the United States and the
other nuclear powers -Britain, China, France, and Russia-assume that nuclear
weapons are essential to their security. To avoid a new and more dangerous
nuclear era, these states must drastically reduce the role that nuclear
weapons play in their security policies. The United States can, and should,
take the lead in promoting an effort to clear the path to a world free of
nuclear weapons.
There is no plausible threat over the next decade or beyond that requires
the United States to maintain more than a few hundred survivable nuclear
weapons. There is also no military reason to link the size of U.S. nuclear
forces to those of other countries. Nor does any plausible threat require
the United States to retain the ability to launch nuclear weapons in a
matter of minutes, or even hours.
Four of the most seasoned architects of U.S. national security policy-George
Shultz, Secretary of State under President Reagan; William Perry, Secretary
of Defense under President Clinton; Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State
under Presidents Nixon and Ford; and Sam Nunn, former Senator from
Georgia-have forcefully articulated the need for a new approach. They argue
that the United States should embrace the goal of a "world free of nuclear
weapons" as a vital contribution to preventing more nations, and eventually
terrorists, from acquiring nuclear weapons.[1]
In short, it is time for a change.
The next president should bring U.S. nuclear weapons policy into line with
today's political and strategic realities by taking 10 critical, unilateral
steps. These steps are practical and pragmatic: they would increase U.S.
security by decreasing the risks of a Russian nuclear attack, nuclear
proliferation, and nuclear terrorism. These steps would also lay the
groundwork for a world without nuclear weapons, and enable the United States
to lead other nations in that direction:
1. Declare that the sole purpose of U.S. nuclear weapons is to deter and, if
necessary, respond to the use of nuclear weapons by another country.
2. Reject rapid-launch options by changing its deployment practices to allow
the launch of nuclear forces in days rather than minutes.
3. Eliminate preset targeting plans, and replace them with the capability to
promptly develop a response tailored to the situation if nuclear weapons are
used against the United States, its armed forces, or its allies.
4. Promptly and unilaterally reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal to no more than
1,000 warheads, including deployed and reserve warheads. The United States
would declare all warheads above this level to be in excess of its military
needs, move them into storage, begin dismantling them in a manner
transparent to the international community, and begin disposing-under
international safeguards-of all plutonium and highly enriched uranium beyond
that required to maintain these 1,000 warheads. By making the endpoint of
this dismantlement process dependent on Russia's response, the United States
would encourage Russia to reciprocate.
5. Halt all programs for developing and deploying new nuclear weapons,
including the proposed Reliable Replacement Warhead.
6. Promptly and unilaterally retire all U.S. nonstrategic nuclear weapons,
dismantling them in a transparent manner, and take steps to induce Russia to
do the same.
7. Announce a U.S. commitment to reducing its number of nuclear weapons
further, on a negotiated and verified bilateral or multilateral basis.
8. Commit to not resume nuclear testing, and work with the Senate to ratify
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
9. Halt further deployment of the Ground-Based Missile Defense, and drop any
plans for space-based missile defense. The deployment of a U.S. missile
defense system that Russia or China believed could intercept a significant
portion of its survivable long-range missile forces would be an obstacle to
deep nuclear cuts. A U.S. missile defense system could also trigger
reactions by these nations that would result in a net decrease in U.S.
security.
10. Reaffirm the U.S. commitment to pursue nuclear disarmament, and present
a specific plan for moving toward that goal, in recognition of the fact that
a universal and verifiable prohibition on nuclear weapons would enhance both
national and international security.
If the next president takes these steps, the United States will have greatly
enhanced national and international security, while also setting the stage
for negotiations to reduce the nuclear arsenals of other countries. Together
with these nations, the United States can then tackle the challenges
entailed in negotiating and implementing verifiable, multilateral reductions
to levels well below 1,000 nuclear warheads-thereby laying the groundwork
for an eventual worldwide prohibition on nuclear weapons.
List of Signatories
* = Nobel Prize
+ = National Medal of Science
# = Member, National Academy of Sciences
Organizational affiliations listed for identification purposes only.
Elihu Abrahams #
Director, Center for Materials Theory, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Rutgers University
Alexei A. Abrikosov * #
Distinguished Argonne Scientist, Argonne National Laboratory
Eric Adelberger #
Professor of Physics, University of Washington
Stephen Adler #
Professor, Institute for Advanced Study
Guenther Ahlers #
Professor, Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Philip W. Anderson * + #
Joseph Henry Professor of Physics, Princeton University
David Arnett #
Regents Professor of Astrophysics, University of Arizona
Gordon Baym #
George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor of Engineering; Center for
Advanced Study Professor of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Roger Blandford #
Pehong and Adele Chen Director, Kavli Institute of Particle Astrophysics and
Cosmology, Luke Blossom Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences,
Stanford University
Lewis M. Branscomb #
Aetna Professor in Public Policy and Corporate Management, Emeritus; Harvard
University, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Richard G. Brewer #
Consulting Professor of Applied Physics, Stanford University
David M. Ceperley #
Professor of Physics, Founder Professor of Engineering, NCSA Staff
scientist, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Marshall H. Cohen #
Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus, California Institute of Technology
Stirling A. Colgate #
Senior Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Eugene D. Commins #
Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
Leon Cooper * #
Thomas J. Watson Sr., Professor of Science; Director, Institute for Brain
and Neural Systems, Brown University
Stanley Deser #
Ancell Professor of Physics, Brandeis University, and Visiting Associate in
Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology
Bruce T. Draine #
Professor, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University
Freeman Dyson #
Professor Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study
Michael E. Fisher #
Distinguished University Professor and Regents Professor, University of
Maryland
Hans Frauenfelder #
Director, Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Lab
Jerome I. Friedman * #
Institute Professor and Professor of Physics Emeritus, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Gerald Gabrielse #
George Vasmer Leverett Professor of Physics, Harvard University
Mary K. Gaillard #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
Richard L. Garwin + #
Fellow Emeritus, IBM Corporation
Howard Georgi #
Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics; Harvard College Professor, Harvard
University
Sheldon L. Glashow * #
Arthur Metcalf Professor of the Sciences, Boston University
Marvin Goldberger #
President Emeritus, California Institute of Technology
David J. Gross * #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Martin Gutzwiller #
IBM Research Emeritus, Adjunct Professor of Yale University
Willy Haeberli #
Professor of Physics Emeritus and Senior Scientist, University of Wisconsin
Erwin L. Hahn #
Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
John L. Hall * #
Fellow Adjoint of JILA and Professor Adjoint of Physics, University of
Colorado
Bertrand I. Halperin #
Hollis Professor of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy, Harvard University
Carl Heiles #
Professor of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley
Ernest Henley #
Professor Emeritus, University of Washington
Pierre Hohenberg #
Professor of Physics, Senior Vice Provost for Research, New York University
J. David Jackson #
Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
Leo P. Kadanoff + #
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor of
Physics and Mathematics, Emeritus University of Chicago
Wolfgang Ketterle * #
John D. MacArthur Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
H. Jeff Kimble #
William L. Valentine Professor and Professor of Physics, California
Institute of Technology
Ivan King #
Research Professor, University of Washington and Professor of Astronomy
Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
Toichiro Kinoshita #
Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics Emeritus, Cornell University
Daniel Kleppner + #
Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Walter Kohn * #
Research Professor of Physics and Chemistry, University of California, Santa
Barbara
Lawrence Krauss
Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics, Professor of Astronomy, and Director,
Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics, Case
Western Reserve University
James Langer #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
Leon M. Lederman * + #
Director Emeritus of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Pritzker
Professor of Science at Illinois Institute of Technology
David M. Lee * #
Professor, Low Temperature Physics, Cornell University
Sir Anthony J. Leggett * #
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor and Center for Advanced Study
Professor of Physics University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Tom C. Lubensky #
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania
Paul C. Martin #
John H. Van Vleck Professor of Pure and Applied Physics, Harvard University
Christopher F. McKee #
Professor of Physics and of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley
N. David Mermin #
Horace White Professor of Physics Emeritus, Cornell University
Albert Narath
Former President and Director, Sandia National Laboratories
Jerry E. Nelson #
Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa
Cruz
Douglas D. Osheroff * #
Professor of Physics and Applied Physics, Stanford University
Eugene N. Parker + #
S. Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Departments of
Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago
Arno Penzias * #
New Enterprise Associates
Martin L. Perl * #
Professor, Stanford University
David Pines #
Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of California, Davis
Robert O. Pohl #
Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics Emeritus, Cornell University
Joseph Polchinski #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
H. David Politzer *
Richard Chace Tolman Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute
of Technology
David E. Pritchard #
Cecil & Ida Green Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Helen R. Quinn #
Professor of Physics, Stanford University
Norman F. Ramsey * + #
Higgins Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Harvard University
Burton Richter * #
Paul Pigott Professor of Physical Sciences Emeritus, Stanford University
Vera C. Rubin + #
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Malvin A. Ruderman #
Centennial Professor of Physics and Professor of Applied Physics, Columbia
University
Edwin E. Salpeter #
James Gilbert White Distinguished Professor of the Physical Sciences,
Emeritus, Cornell University
Myriam P. Sarachik #
Distinguished Professor of Physics, City College of New York, CUNY
John H. Schwarz #
Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute of
Technology
Andrew Sessler #
Distinguished Emeritus Scientist and Distinguished Director Emeritus,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Y. Ron Shen #
Professor of Physics, University of California Berkeley
Melvyn J. Shochet #
Kersten Distinguished Service Professor of Physics, University of Chicago
David Spergel #
Charles Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation,
Princeton University
Charles Steidel #
Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
Horst Stormer * #
Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics, Columbia University
Leonard Susskind #
Felix Bloch Professor of Physics, Stanford University
Saul Teukolsky #
Hans A. Bethe Professor of Physics and Astrophysics, Cornell University
Maury Tigner #
Hans A. Bethe Professor of Physics Emeritus, Cornell University
Charles H. Townes * + #
University Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Scott Tremaine #
Richard Black Professor of Astrophysics, Institute for Advanced Study
George H. Trilling #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
J. Anthony Tyson #
Professor of Physics, University of California, Davis
George Wallerstein
Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus, University of Washington
Steven Weinberg * + #
Professor of Physics, University of Texas at Austin
Rainer Weiss #
Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ray J. Weymann #
Staff Member & Director Emeritus, Carnegie Observatories, Carnegie
Institution of Washington
Frank Wilczek * #
Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert Wilson * #
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Bruce Winstein #
Samuel K. Allison Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Physics,
University of Chicago
Lincoln Wolfenstein #
University Professor of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University
Bruno Zumino #
Professor, University of California Berkeley
Note
1. George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger and Sam Nunn, "A
World Free of Nuclear Weapons," Wall Street Journal, January 4, 2007, p.
A15.