Atomic Playboys

The NY Times has reported that the U.S. government has funded projects which would increase the budget for developing new nuclear weapons. The process of "updating" the current stock of nuclear weapons is a highly risky project, politically and in terms of U.S. national security for it would legitimize the aims of such countries as Iran and North Korea to pursue their nuclear weapons programs and could set off a new round of nuclear arms races, especially if the U.S. decides to re-commence nuclear tests, in violation of the nuclear test ban treaty (with also detrimental health effects for Americans). If the U.S. begins to re-start its nuclear program, the global ramifications could be devastating. What did we learn from the Cold War? The presence of nuclear weapons in two powers was enough to lead to a number of proxy wars and other countries pursuing the flag of atomic presence. In a uni-power world, even the hint that the U.S. might be developing new nuclear weapons is enough to signal the possibility of their use in the coming years. In terms of national security, this is an awful idea. It makes the U.S. significantly more unsafe and sends a signal to currently unfavorable countries that they are in our sights and if they make one wrong move, BOOM and there goes the beginning of a nuclear war. What a frightening and disturbing prospect.