Senior Policy Director John Erath spoke with Las Vegas Review-Journal about the role of Nevada in the U.S. nuclear arsenal and increasing nuclear tension surrounding possible testing efforts in Russia.
John Erath, senior policy director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said Russia’s decision is a strategy to push Western countries’ influence out of the war in Ukraine. Russian leaders understand the U.S. is nervous about the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons, and they are trying to play on those fears, Erath said.
“What their intentions are, what they’re planning, is shrouded in mystery for this reason,” he said. “They want to be as scary as possible.”
Seismic stations set up worldwide monitor for seismic activity and shockwaves in the earth with a degree that they can tell that something is a very large explosion, Erath said, “so if somebody did a nuclear test … we would know about it.”
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It is worth recommitting to the nuclear testing ban to show the U.S. is doing the right thing, Erath said.
“I think we should be drawing that distinction very clearly, between who is working to make the world a safer place and who is doing the opposite,” he said. Read more
