“Nuclear weapons are simply too dangerous to exist”

IPPNW Co-President Ira Helfand and PSR Board member Robert Dodge have two very important letters in today’s New York Times, calling for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons, and questioning whether we can continue to avoid a catastrophic nuclear war during the Trump administration.

Dr. Helfand notes that the election of Donald Trump has “demolished a critical underpinning of nuclear deterrence policy: the requirement that the arsenals of the nuclear-armed states would be controlled by responsible leaders. It is time to acknowledge that these weapons are simply too dangerous to exist.”

Dr. Dodge challenges the “unexamined assumption” by the Times editorial board “that all presidents have had and should have the authority to launch a nuclear attack. It is unlikely that this president or any modern president has any idea what the consequences of a nuclear attack would be. None have been asked when they would unleash such an attack ending life as we know it.”

Helfand also called on the US to support ban treaty negotiations that begin next month at the United Nations.