One More Step Towards Nuclear Obliteration? – OpEd

By Jonathan Power

Nuclear arms control is close to collapse. On Wednesday, February 4, the so-called New START Treaty, signed in 2011 by the United States and Russia, expires. It capped long-range strategic nuclear warheads at roughly 1,500 each—a dramatic reduction from Cold War levels.

Even so, today’s arsenals remain capable of destroying civilisation many times over. Since the era of John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, leaders on both sides have understood the dangers.