Senior Policy Director John Erath was quoted in Truthout about the expiration of New START’s impact on Europe.
John Erath, senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, told Truthout that the expiration of New START “is but another factor in creating a general perception that times are much worse and things are much more dangerous now. But it’s only one part of the equation.”
Speaking on the utility of the U.S. nuclear weapons based in Europe, Erath said that, from the perspective of an American strategist, they are “completely useless and a needless expense.” But he recognized that from NATO’s perspective they play an important political role as symbols of the American commitment to Trans-Atlantic defense. If those weapons were going to be eliminated, he said, it would require “a complicated, extensive discussion about what else will signify and will symbolize that U.S. commitment to defend the allies at any cost.” Erath said that commitment is now in doubt because Trump has quite bluntly said so.
The ongoing maintenance of U.S. B61 gravity bombs, which Erath described as “rather old-fashioned,” is costly. “Nuclear weapons are not cheap,” he said, listing the requisite extensive security precautions, reinforced storage vaults, specially trained personnel, and other systems and facilities that cannot be dedicated to other military missions, “all in order to maintain weapons you hope you will never use.”
Would removing U.S. nuclear bombs lead to a country like Germany developing its own? Erath finds that hard to imagine. Any such attempt would face multiple significant legal, political, economic, and technological hurdles. Germany is prohibited from developing its own nuclear weapons by international treaties and agreements. Speaking about nuclear sharing and deterrence in Europe recently at the Munich Security Conference, Germany’s Merz said, “to be clear, we absolutely stick to our legal obligations.” Read more
