Stay Informed

Nuclear Weapons

EmailPrint

Reagan and Gorbachev sign the INF Treaty.
Reagan and Gorbachev sign the INF Treaty (1987). Reagan library.

RECENT ANALYSIS

  • Feb 2, 2012
    New START: One year later
    With the anniversary of New START's entry into force, it's time for an examination of the treaty's successes, future opportunities, and the hurdles nuclear arms reductions still face, writes Kingston Reif in a new article published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
  • Jan 26, 2012
    Are ambitious Life Extension Programs on Hold?
    The B61 life extension program has come under increasing scrutiny. And for good reason writes Nickolas Roth in this new analysis.
  • Jan 9, 2012
    Some Additional Thoughts on the Pentagon Strategy Review and Nuclear Weapons
    On January 5 President Obama and Secretary of Defense Panetta unveiled new defense guidance at a press briefing at the Pentagon. The new strategy sets the stage, albeit cautiously, for further reductions in the U.S. nuclear arsenal and the nuclear weapons budget. How the play ends, however, remains to be seen, writes Kingston Reif in this new analysis.
  • See more articles »

John Isaacs

CENTER EXPERT

John Isaacs

Executive Director
202-546-0795 ext.2222
jdi AT armscontrolcenter DOT org

For the latest Nuclear Weapons related news and analysis, please see the Nukes on a Blog section of Nukes of Hazard.

Nuclear Weaopns Funding Resource Center

START Resource Center

By the late 1960s, it became apparent that while the arms race between the United States and Soviet Union was yielding thousands of additional nuclear weapons, it was not leading to greater security for either country or the world at-large.

Thus, in 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the NPT, was opened for signature. In addition to establishing an international commitment to nonproliferation, the NPT laid the groundwork for eventual disarmament by all existing nuclear states. This disarmament vision was embodied in Article VI, which called upon signatories to negotiate "effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race" as well as "general and complete disarmament."

The NPT served as a prelude to the first round of Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT I) between the U.S. and Soviet Union. On May 26, 1972, SALT I produced bilateral pledges to freeze at existing levels the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers possessed by each country and to take other steps to mitigate the arms race. Most notably, SALT I also produced the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty banning missile defense systems as well as an interim agreement on strategic offensive arms.

In the past 30 years, various important agreements were negotiated and signed between the United States, Soviet Union (and its successor states), and other parties to reduce strategic nuclear stockpiles. These include the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Strategic Arms Reduction Talks I (START I) and the Lisbon Protocol, Strategic Arms Reduction Talks II (START II), Strategic Arms Reduction Talks III (START III), and the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT or Moscow Treaty).

ARTICLES

Jun 28, 2011 Tactical Nuclear Weapons and Korea

Jun 1, 2011 John Isaacs: Nuclear Arms Control Prospects

John Isaacs speaks at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs on the prospects for nuclear arms control over the next 18 months.

Center Board Member Leonard Weiss publishes paper in CISAC

Sep 17, 2010 Sharing New START's Negotiating Record Is Unwarranted

Sep 14, 2010 Budget Cuts Threaten U.K. Trident Replacement

Sep 29, 2010 Game Time for New START

Dec 10, 2009 Nuclear Weapons: The Modernization Myth

Dec 3, 2009 Pruning the Nuclear Triad? Pros and Cons of Bombers, Missiles, and Submarines

Nov 12, 2009 For Safety, Ban Nuclear Tests

Nov 2, 2009 How to Ratify the Test Ban Treaty

Apr 16, 2009 A Strategy for Achieving Senate Approval of the CTBT

Nov 14, 2008 Understanding and Preventing Nuclear Terrorism

FACT SHEETS

Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Background and Key Issues

Dec 9, 2009 Fact Sheet: 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference

Dec 9, 2009 Fact Sheet: 2010 Global Nuclear Security Summit

Jul 15, 2009 Factsheet on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT)

Jul 2, 2009 Backgrounder on Obama-Medvedev July 2009 Moscow Summit

Jun 22, 2009 Factsheet on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty

BUDGET ANALYSIS

Click Here for FY 2010 Defense Budget Analysis Archive

ADDITIONAL READING