Question: Nuclear Weapons

Do you agree with Former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, among others, who argue that the United States should pursue “a world free of nuclear weapons”? If you are in the Senate when the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is brought to a vote, will you work and vote for ratification?

FCNL’S PERSPECTIVE:

Leading opinion-makers in both major political parties now recognize that nuclear weapons do not assure U.S. security. Of the estimated 20,000 nuclear weapons in the world today, nearly 19,000 are in the United States and Russia. Former Secretaries of State Kissinger and Shultz have now been joined by Colin Powell and many others in their campaign to work for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

The next step in this process in the United States is Senate ratiication of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This treaty prohibits nuclear test explosions and establishes a global monitoring system to ensure compliance. The treaty has already been signed by 180 countries and ratiied by more than 150. The United States is one of eight countries whose failure to ratify the treaty is blocking it from taking effect.

Ratiication of this treaty is an urgent priority. Without the treaty, India is threatening to resume nuclear testing. This would almost certainly start a new nuclear arms race in Asia. This treaty’s entry into force would strengthen efforts to prevent additional nations from developing nuclear weapons and constrain countries that already have nuclear weapons from developing new ones.