Senior Policy Director John Erath spoke with Outrider about European nuclear arsenals after the expiration of New START.
At the time, the treaty was applauded for making headway on arms talks with Russia. Still, there was also plenty of criticism, says John Erath, Senior Policy Director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. The upper limits of weapons and launchers were still high, and many advocates hoped that the threshold would be lower and force both countries to reduce their nuclear weapons stockpile.
“There was disappointment with START at first, but now a lot of people feel that it’s very important, and don’t want to live without it,” Erath says.
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At this juncture, Erath says that both France and the U.K. are modernizing their nuclear forces in response to the U.S.’s unreliability, though with some limitations.
“There are severe resource constraints, and both governments […] don’t have billions more for nuclear weapons,” Erath says. “[What] results is uncertainty, and serious discussion of what to do for U.S. deterrence.” Read more
