Militarism: Policy solutions

Nuclear weapons

President Obama recently affirmed his commitment to a nuclear weapons free world in a speech to the United Nations. Passage of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty will be the first step in making this goal a reality.

A supportive Obama administration and significantly increased Senate support make prospects for U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) better than ever before. Since the treaty’s defeat in 1999, many concerns of the CTBT’s detractors have been addressed. Conflicts between India and Pakistan, and North Korea's nuclear test, have further shown that the world is less secure without a nuclear test ban.

During the 1999 CTBT debate, lawmakers' two biggest worries were whether other countries' compliance could be verified and whether the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile could be maintained. These concerns contributed to the treaty's defeat. A decade later, the stockpile has been certified as safe and reliable every year by the secretaries of Defense and Energy. Technological advances in U.S. and global nuclear test monitoring provide high confidence that any country violating the treaty would be caught. CTBT ratification is essential to make short-notice, on-site inspections possible and to maintain long term support for the operation of the global monitoring system.

Nuclear testing has been used for more than half a century to intimidate military rivals. U.S. ratification of the CTBT will reinforce the de facto global nuclear test moratorium and diminish the perceived political value of nuclear weapons.

In addition to this decreased political value, a 2004 poll found that 87% of U.S. respondents support this country's ratification of a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons test explosions worldwide. The CTBT has been signed by 180 countries and ratified by 146, including every U.S. ally. In 1999 India and Pakistan expressed a desire to ratify the CTBT, but they walked away when the U.S. Senate rejected it.

In October 1999 the treaty won only 49 of the necessary 67 votes for ratification. With more congressional support and a president willing to use the bully pulpit to promote the treaty, ratification is achievable with a strong and sustained campaign propelled by the grassroots. Contact your senators and encourage them to ratify the CTBT.