Democratic congressmen published an open letter addressed to Pentagon chief Mark Esper and Energy Secretary Dan Bruyet, asking for answers to a number of questions related to information about a possible resumption of US nuclear tests. In particular, lawmakers want to be clarified as to whether the US intelligence agencies and agencies have analyzed the likely consequences of such a move. If so, congressmen are required to provide the results of these studies.

House members also recall that NNSA (the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Safety Administration) has previously stated that there is no need for nuclear testing. In this regard, congressmen want to know what could change in this area and why the White House started talking about nuclear tests.

Global moratorium

The authors of the appeal express deep concern about these reports, as well as the fact that Congress has not yet received any information on this subject. In addition, lawmakers recall that such plans are directly contrary to the Nuclear Policy Review adopted by the White House in 2018.

The document says that although the United States does not intend to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the US will not conduct new nuclear weapons tests "if this is not necessary to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the US nuclear arsenal." The United States also called on all countries possessing nuclear weapons to declare a moratorium on such tests.

  • © Mark Wilson / Getty Images / AFP

“The resumption of nuclear testing would jeopardize our national security and the superiority of our nuclear deterrence potential. As a country that conducted more nuclear weapons tests than all other countries combined, the United States benefits most from a global test moratorium, ”the document says.

The authors of the letter also note that the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty would significantly strengthen US national security.

“The idea that the resumption of testing will somehow force Russia or China to enter into arms control negotiations is untenable and unfounded. The resumption of testing will create the prerequisites for the global spread of nuclear tests, which will only benefit our opponents and weaken the level of security of Americans, ”the statement emphasizes.

The letter was signed by Adam Smith, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Democrat Jim Cooper, Chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, and Nita Lowy, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

According to The Hill, the Pentagon declined to comment on the congressmen’s appeal. The agency said they intend to give an answer directly to the authors of the letter. A similar statement was made at the US Department of Energy.

Another letter on the eve was sent by members of the US Senate and House of Representatives to the head of the White House, Donald Trump. Signatures on the appeal put 80 senators and congressmen. The authors urge the White House to abandon the idea of ​​resuming nuclear testing. A return to nuclear testing is not only unnecessary from a technical point of view, but also dangerous, since it will show the world the uncertainty of the United States in its own nuclear arsenals, and may also undermine the nuclear non-proliferation regime, the statement says.

“We are deeply concerned about recent reports that you are considering resuming nuclear tests that the US has not conducted since 1992. We urge you to most decisively abandon this pernicious idea, both because it is not technically necessary and because it will constitute a dangerous provocation, ”the appeal says.

The authors of the letter also recalled that the United States has long moved from nuclear testing to an annual assessment as part of the US Department of Energy's Responsible Ammunition Management and Management Program.

  • Donald Trump
  • © Tom Brenner / Reuters

Note that earlier Democratic Senator Edward Marky introduced a bill to the US Senate, in the case of which the financing of new nuclear tests from the treasury would be banned. The document is designed to prevent the current White House administration from resuming nuclear tests.

As a member of the Scientific Council under the Security Council of Russia, Doctor of Political Sciences Andrei Manoilo, explained in an interview with RT, the statements and initiatives of the Democrats are related to the ongoing election campaign in the United States.

“US foreign policy is a mirror image of domestic policy. Democrats today oppose the idea of ​​resuming nuclear testing. But if Trump was in favor of maintaining this ban, then the Democrats, on the contrary, would be in favor of conducting nuclear tests. Democrats today are doing everything in opposition to the Republicans and Trump, ”the expert explained.

Safety test

Recall the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1996. The document was signed by 184 countries, of which 168 have ratified it. However, for the treaty to enter into force, it is necessary that it be signed by three more countries - India, North Korea and Pakistan and ratified by five countries - the USA, China, Egypt, Israel and Iran. Russia had previously ratified the agreement.

Moscow calls on Washington to ratify the CTBT. As Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said earlier, the responsibility for the fact that the treaty has not yet entered into force lies with those countries that have not ratified the document.

  • 51st United Nations General Assembly in New York, September 24, 1996
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“In this context, we urge the United States of America to change the decision made in this country's nuclear doctrine not to seek ratification of the CTBT,” Ryabkov said, speaking at the 2019 Non-Proliferation Conference.

However, although Washington has not ratified the CTBT, in practice the US side has not conducted nuclear tests since 1992. Instead, the so-called experiments with the subcritical mass of plutonium were carried out to test whether the American warheads retain their destructive potential while in storage. As part of the experiments, elements of a nuclear warhead are used, but no explosion is made. Such studies make it possible to obtain the information necessary to control previously produced nuclear warheads, as well as to create new shells.

However, in May 2020, The Washington Post, citing sources in the White House, announced a possible resumption of nuclear testing in the United States. According to the publication, this idea was discussed in the administration of Donald Trump during a meeting with representatives of national security agencies.

During the discussion, it was allegedly suggested that if the US shows Russia and China that they can conduct a “quick test”, this could strengthen Washington’s position in possible tripartite talks with Beijing and Moscow.

A few days after publication and. about. Pentagon’s assistant chief for nuclear affairs, Drew Walter, said the United States is ready to begin nuclear testing within a few months, if ordered by the head of the White House.

“A more complete test, with full diagnostics and a large amount of data, with all, so to speak, bells and whistles, can be carried out in a few years. But in the end, if the president orders, in view of some technical or geopolitical issues, to test the system, I think it can be implemented quite quickly, ”said Drew Walter on May 26.

“Cross on the future of START III”

At the same time, in April 2020, the State Department accused Moscow of conducting experiments with nuclear charges. Allegedly, the Russian side violated the nuclear test ban agreements, including the Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Testing of Nuclear Weapons, which was signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1974. The Russian Foreign Ministry denied the allegations made by the US Foreign Ministry.

As Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained in an interview with RT, these baseless accusations are used by the American side to untie their hands and withdraw from international treaties.

  • Minuteman Modified Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
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  • © Ballistic Missile Defense Organization

“Republicans have traditionally been trying to strike a blow at global strategic stability and undermine arms control. They defend the point of view according to which agreements with Russia in the field of strategic stability fetter American opportunities in the world. And with its statements, the administration is preparing the way to put an end to the future of START III, ”the expert noted.

A similar point of view is shared by Andrei Manoilo. As the expert explained, the US does not have an objective need for nuclear tests, the development of new weapons has nothing to do with the ability to conduct nuclear tests. In this case, the resumption of testing may be in the hands of the US military-industrial complex.

“Any nuclear tests involve enormous industries, the creation of huge orders, the allocation of large funds from the US defense budget. Trump will be able to give those forces that brought him to power. As for the position of the Democrats, now the parties are in the most acute phase of the political struggle. And the issue of resuming nuclear tests has become another point in this confrontation, ”the expert concluded.