The only remaining nuclear disarmament treaty—the New START Treaty—expires in February 2026, and there is no indication that U.S. and Russian officials are planning for talks to renew the treaty.
By Melvin Goodman, CounterPunch
Last month, I reported on the Biden administration’s new nuclear doctrine to prepare the United States for a coordinated nuclear challenge from Russia, China, and North Korea. The Biden doctrine revives the concept of “escalation dominance,” one of the main drivers of the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s.

President Biden’s neglect of arms control and disarmament means that the next president will inherit a nuclear landscape that is more threatening and volatile than any other since the Cuban missile crisis more than 60 years ago. The Cuban missile crisis, however, was a wake up call for both President John F. Kennedy and General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, leading to a series of arms control and disarmament treaties beginning with the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963.
We need another wake up call.
Currently, there is little discussion of reviving arms control and disarmament. Instead the mainstream media and many commentators are making the case for additional nuclear weaponry and the modernization of weapons currently in the nuclear arsenal. The influential British newsweekly, The Economist, is leading the way in this campaign, arguing that the concept of deterrence demands that the United States build up and modernize its nuclear arsenal. An oped in the New York Times this week, written by the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, argues that credible deterrence will prevent our adversaries from “even considering a nuclear strike against America or its allies.”
Deterrence requires that nuclear weapons must be in a high state of readiness in order to address the danger of surprise attack, which increases the possibility of unintentional use of nuclear weapons. We need a discussion of alternatives to deterrence, such as negotiations for confidence-building measures as well as arms control and disarmament.
Recent Posts
The Trump-Musk Spat Exposes Our Ugly Plutocracy
June 7, 2025
Take Action Now Two billionaires, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, are squabbling over the federal government’s spoils. It seems almost quaint to worry…
Donald Trump Is Advertising Genocide As A Business Opportunity
June 6, 2025
Take Action Now The U.S. president is still trying to sell the world on the destruction of Gaza.By Edward Hunt, Foreign Policy in Focus Among all…
The FBI Sought Search Warrants For Columbia Students’ Social Media
June 5, 2025
Take Action Now New court documents reveal how the feds tried to unmask the Columbia students — and got blocked by federal judges on First Amendment…
Greta Thunberg Speaks From Aid Ship Heading To Gaza Despite Israeli Threats: It’s My Moral Obligation
June 5, 2025
Take Action Now “We cannot have climate justice without social justice. The reason why I am a climate activist is not because I want to protect…