How to Starve Trump’s Lust for Nukes

The Politico Magazine ^ | September 10, 2019 | William J. Perry and Tom Z. Collina

[2ndDivisionVet]

Next week, Democrats in Congress will have a golden opportunity to take a strong and principled stand against President Trump’s dangerous moves to resurrect the nuclear arms race.

So far, Trump has set a treacherous course for U.S. nuclear policy. He is tearing down arms control treaties that were carefully constructed over decades with bipartisan support. He is building new weapons at tremendous cost that will increase nuclear threats to the world. He has impulsively threatened nations (North Korea) with nuclear attack and has pushed others (Iran) to resume nuclear activities that they had ended.

Trump has been in office for less than three years, and the world is already a more dangerous place. Far from earning our trust on nuclear policy, he has given us reason to be deeply concerned.

Unfortunately, the executive branch has sweeping authority when it comes to nuclear weapons. Presidents can simply walk away from international agreements, as Trump has done with the Iran deal and the INF Treaty with Russia, and may do again with the New START treaty—the last remaining agreement that limits U.S. and Russian arsenals. Trump also has absolute authority to order the first use of nuclear weapons with no checks or balances from anyone: not his advisors, and not the Congress.

[a fool in paradise]

According to a Wired article from 2009 it survived the Soviets’ fall.