MULTIPLE PATHS TO NUCLEAR REDUCTIONS: TREATIES, RECIPROCAL CUTS AND INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL ACTION
CENTER FOR ARMS CONTROL AND NON-PROLIFERATION RELEASES NEW REPORT ON NON-TREATY NUCLEAR ARMS REDUCTIONS
Washington DC – December 12, 2013– News Release – The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation has released a new study on reductions to the U.S. nuclear arsenal since the end of the Cold War. The report finds that non-treaty reductions ordered by the American president have been the primary means of reducing the size of the U.S. nuclear stockpile.
The report was co-authored by Director of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Programs, Kingston Reif, and Director of Digital Outreach, Usha Sahay, and can be found here.
Reif and Sahay have drafted a long-form column that is available for reprint by media publications. The column can be found here.
“Since the end of the Cold War, the size of the U.S. nuclear stockpile has dropped steadily – from about 22,000 warheads to roughly 5,000 today,” said Reif. “The best kept secret of U.S. nuclear policy is that most of these reductions haven’t been codified in treaties.”
The report examines the reductions to the U.S. nuclear arsenal since the Cold War. “As the Commander-in-Chief, the President has authority to make changes to U.S. military posture in order to align it with changing national security needs,” said Sahay. “The nuclear arsenal is no exception.”
In fact, treaties ratified and implemented since the end of the Cold War have only reduced the deployed strategic U.S. arsenal and not the overall U.S. nuclear stockpile. Most of the nuclear stockpile is, and has always been, governed by independent presidential discretion, not treaties.
The report also reveals that the deepest reductions to the arsenal have been made unilaterally by Republican presidents.
The full report can be found here.
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The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a Washington-based non-profit think tank working to reduce the number of nuclear weapons stockpiled across the globe, increase international nonproliferation programs targeted at preventing the further proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism, redirect U.S. military spending to address 21st century security threats and halt the proliferation of biological and chemical weapons. www.armscontrolcenter.org
