The text below is an Open Letter to the next American president urging complete nuclear disarmament as an urgent priority. The letter was prepared under the auspices of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and its current list of signatories are listed below. We hope you will add your name to the list.
As president of the United States, you will have the grave responsibility of assuring that nuclear weapons are not overtly threatened or used during your term of office.
The most certain way to fulfill this responsibility is to negotiate with the other possessors of nuclear weapons for their total elimination. The U.S. is obligated under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to engage in such negotiations in good faith for an end to the nuclear arms race and for nuclear disarmament.
A nuclear war, any nuclear war, would be an act of insanity. Between nuclear weapons states, it would lead to the destruction of the attacking nation as well as the attacked. Between the US and Russia, it would threaten the survival of humanity.
There are still more than 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world, of which the United States possesses approximately 7,000. Some 1,000 of these remain on hair-trigger alert. A similar number remain on hair-trigger alert in Russia. This is a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Even if nuclear weapons are not used intentionally, they could be used inadvertently by accident or miscalculation. Nuclear weapons and human fallibility are a dangerous mix.
Nuclear deterrence presupposes a certain view of human behavior. It depends on the willingness of political leaders to act rationally under all circumstances, even those of extreme stress. It provides no guarantees or physical protection. It could fail spectacularly and tragically.
You have suggested that more nations – such as Japan, South Korea and even Saudi Arabia – may need to develop their own nuclear arsenals because the US spends too much money protecting other countries. This nuclear proliferation would make for a far more dangerous world. It is also worrisome that you have spoken of dismantling or reinterpreting the international agreement that places appropriate limitations on Iran’s nuclear program and has the support of all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany.
As other presidents have had, you will have at your disposal the power to end civilization as we know it. You will also have the opportunity, should you choose, to lead in ending the nuclear weapons era and achieving nuclear zero through negotiations on a treaty for the phased, verifiable, irreversible and transparent elimination of nuclear weapons.
We, the undersigned, urge you to choose the course of negotiations for a nuclear weapons-free world. It would be a great gift to all humanity and all future generations.
To add your name to the open letter, click here.
Initial signers:
David Krieger President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Richard Falk Senior Vice President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Daniel Ellsberg Distinguished Fellow, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Noam Chomsky Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Oliver Stone Film director
Setsuko Thurlow Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Survivor
Anders Wijkman Co-President, Club of Rome
Helen Caldicott Founding President, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Ben Ferencz Former Nuremberg war crimes prosecutor
Robert Jay Lifton Columbia University
Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C. Former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament
Robert Laney Chair, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Rick Wayman Director of Programs, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Ruben Arvizu Latin America Representative, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Jonathan Granoff President, Global Security Institute
Medea Benjamin Co-Founder, Code Pink
Peter Kuznick Professor of History and Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute, American University
Barry Ladendorf President, Veterans for Peace
Dr. Hafsat Abiola-Costello Founder and President, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy
Marie Dennis Co-President, Pax Christi International
Elaine Scarry Professor, Harvard University
Alice Slater New York Representative, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Richard Appelbaum Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Sandy Jones Director of Communications, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Joni Arends Executive Director, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Sergio Grosjean Instituto Mexicano de Ecologia Ciencia y Cultura
John Avery Associate, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Leonard Eiger Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
April Brown Marshallese Educational Initiative
Jill Dexter Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Robert Aldridge Associate, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Charles Genuardi Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Bill Wickersham Associate, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
John Hallam People for Nuclear Disarmament
Mark Hamilton Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Mary Becker Former Board member, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Frank Bognar Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Judith Lipton, M.D. Security Committee, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Sue Hawes Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Sherry Melchiorre Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Elena Nicklasson Director of Development, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Daniel Smith Appellate Lawyer
Nancy Andon Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Lawrence Markworth Board of Directors, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Cletus Stein The Peace Farm
Mario Fuentes Sector Salud
Jim Knowlton Blue Ocean Productions
Peter Low Adjunct Senior Lecturer, University of Canterbury
Jenny Maxwell Hereford Peace Council
Rodrigo Navarro Comunicar para Conservar
Sergio Rimola National Hispanic Medical Association
Julian Rodriguez #Revolucionando