Head of Nobel Peace Prize-Winning Group: Trump’s Nuclear Policy “Puts Us on Path Toward Nuclear War”

This was an excellent interview that I heard on Democracy Now! today. So vital to highlight again and again what is happening and the peril we are all in. Solutions only become possible as we embrace the truth of the depth of the problem. And there is no greater problem than that which may destroy life on Earth. Another world is possible. ― Molly

From today's Democracy Now! --

A treaty intended to limit the United States and Russia’s long-range nuclear arsenals officially takes effect today. But the once-promising treaty, signed eight years ago by President Obama, is overshadowed by a new nuclear arms race sparked by President Trump. On Friday, the Trump administration unveiled its new nuclear weapons strategy, which involves spending at least $1.2 trillion to upgrade the United States’ nuclear arsenal, including developing some completely new nuclear weapons. Prominent anti-nuclear advocates have denounced the Pentagon’s plan as “radical” and “extreme.” For more, we speak with Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: A treaty intended to limit the United States and Russia’s long-range nuclear arsenals officially takes effect today. But the once-promising treaty, signed eight years ago by President Obama, is overshadowed by a new nuclear arms race sparked by President Trump. On Friday, the Trump administration unveiled its new nuclear weapons strategy, which involves spending at least $1.2 trillion to upgrade the United States’ nuclear arsenal, including developing some completely new nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Posture Review calls for developing low-yield warheads, which critics say blur the lines between the nuclear and non-nuclear weapons, meaning they are more likely to be used. It also reportedly seeks to expand the number of scenarios under which the United States might consider the use of nuclear weapons, including in response to a major cyberattack. As The New York Times reports in a front-page article today, quote, “The Pentagon envisions a new age in which nuclear weapons are back in a big way.”

This is Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan speaking Friday about the Pentagon’s Nuclear Posture Review, known as the NPR.

        DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY PATRICK SHANAHAN: This review is consistent with U.S. nuclear policies since the end of the Cold War. It reaffirms that the fundamental role of U.S. nuclear policy is deterrence, and continues our clear commitment to nonproliferation and arms control. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has worked to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons. But the world looks different since the last NPR in 2010. The challenging and dynamic security environment requires steady action to strengthen deterrence. This NPR responds to today’s security needs with a tailored nuclear deterrence strategy and flexible capabilities for effective deterrence.

AMY GOODMAN: Prominent anti-nuclear advocates have denounced the Pentagon’s plan as “radical” and “extreme.” World leaders have also criticized the plan. Russia said it risked provoking a renewed nuclear arms race. China accused Trump of engaging in a new Cold War. Iran’s foreign minister said the plan brings the world “closer to annihilation.”

This comes as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advanced the Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to midnight. The clock is a symbolic timekeeper that tracks the likelihood of nuclear war and other existential threats. It now stands closer to midnight than at any time since 1953. The scientists directly cited President Trump’s nuclear policies as one of the reasons for advancing the clock.

For more, we go to Geneva, Switzerland, where we’re joined by Beatrice Fihn, the executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. It is the latest organization to win the Nobel Peace Prize. It won in December.

Beatrice Fihn, well, first of all, congratulations on the Nobel Peace Prize. And talk about what this, what’s called the NPR, the Nuclear Posture Review, the Trump administration’s plans for nuclear weapons, what it means for world peace.

BEATRICE FIHN: It’s a really dangerous new policy. We have already had a very dangerous status quo for many years. And this just increases, really, the risk of nuclear war. It is a policy that lowers the threshold for using nuclear weapons and develops new types of nuclear weapons that would be easier for President Trump to use. It’s dangerous, and it puts us on the path towards nuclear war, if we don’t act now.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Beatrice Fihn, what are the commitments right now of the United States in terms of lowering or reducing its nuclear arsenal?

BEATRICE FIHN: Well, the United States has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits it to negotiating good-faith nuclear disarmament. But so far, that has not taken place. But it’s not just the United States. All nuclear-armed states, including Russia and China, France, U.K., are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, upgrading instead of reducing their arsenals.

AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go to a clip of President Trump giving his State of the Union last week. He said he would beef up the U.S. nuclear arsenal and dismiss global efforts to ban nuclear weapons.

        PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and so powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression by any other nation or anyone else. Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet, sadly.

AMY GOODMAN: During his State of the Union, Trump escalated his rhetoric against North Korea once again, calling the North Korean government “depraved,” warning it poses a nuclear risk to the United States.

        PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: North Korea’s reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland. We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening. Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this very dangerous position. We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and to our allies.

AMY GOODMAN: So that’s President Trump. Beatrice Fihn, in Geneva, Switzerland, can you respond to both, the talking about North Korea posing an increased risk to the United States and how you see that being resolved? And specifically, what is new in what President Trump is proposing in this Nuclear Posture Review? Is it any different to what President Obama proposed in the trillion-dollar renovation of the nuclear arsenal?

BEATRICE FIHN: The situation with North Korea is obviously really dangerous, and the United States has one of the biggest nuclear arsenals in the world. It did not stop, it did not deter North Korea from going nuclear. Rather, it encouraged proliferation. And right now we see evidence that deterrence and using nuclear weapons to protect ourselves is not working. It does not create stability and peace in the region. Rather, it escalates tensions. It fuels the crisis and leads us at risk for nuclear war.

Please go here to continue the transcript, or to watch the full video interview: https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/5/head_of_nobel_peace_prize_winning