Why We DON'T Need to Resume Nuclear Testing: A Reply to Senator Jon Kyl
Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Ploughshares-funded Arms Control Association, debunked some of the myths about the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) put forth in a recent op-ed by Senator John Kyl (R-AZ). “If Washington fails to fulfill its commitment to join the CTBT," writes Kimball, "U.S. leverage to strengthen nuclear safeguards, tighten controls on nuclear weapons-related technology, and isolate states that don’t follow the nonproliferation rules will be weakened."
He dismisses concerns about cheating and verification, and points to improved capability to detect clandestine nuclear testing, the inability of countries of lesser nuclear test experience to conceal tests and the disincentives of doing so, and how the CTBT would give the U.S. additional tools to resolve compliance concerns.
