Democrats, Republicans must work to reduce nuke danger

It was President Ronald Reagan who said "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." With Russia on the warpath in Ukraine and threatening to use nukes it's urgent that Democrats and Republicans work together to reduce the danger.

This is no time for bitter partisan politics. Now is the time for cooperation especially on national security issues like nuclear weapons.

Members of Congress should sign a resolution introduced in the House (H. Res. 1079) and Senate (S. Res. 593) "Expressing support for the continued value of arms control agreements and condemning the Russian Federation’s purported suspension of its participation in the New START Treaty."

The New START Treaty of 2010 reduced both U.S. and Russian deployed strategic nuclear weapons to 1,550 each. But Russia has suspended participation in the treaty and that means no on-site inspection or verification measures by the U.S. in Russia.

The New START Treaty needs to be functioning again. The U.S. must also develop a successor agreement with Russia since the New START Treaty expires in 2026.

The House and Senate resolution calls for President Joe Biden to pursue nuclear arms control agreements with Russia and also China. We must avoid a costly nuclear arms race.

There is strength in unity. Both political parties should support these nuclear arms control and disarmament efforts.

Bipartisan cooperation on nukes has worked before. After the 1962 Cuban missile crisis brought the U.S. and the Soviet Union close to a nuclear war, diplomacy was ramped up. President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, achieved the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 with the Soviets that ended nuke tests in the atmosphere, underwater and outer space.

Former Republican President Dwight Eisenhower and members of his administration vigorously supported JFK’s efforts to get the treaty ratified in the Senate. The Limited Test Ban Treaty was a dramatic turnaround from being on the brink of nuclear holocaust. The support from both Democrats and Republicans was crucial to get the treaty approved.

Today, the United States and Russia also need to take steps away from war and toward reason. The U.S. and Russia must develop a new treaty reducing their nuclear arsenals from thousands into the hundreds.

Such historic disarmament negotiations could coincide with the end of the war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian troops. There would be significant security gains for all by ending the war and allowing this major nuclear disarmament plan to move forward.

As another benefit of the disarmament plan, the U.S. and Russia can each contribute savings toward feeding the hungry both at home and abroad. This would be similar to the plan President Eisenhower proposed in his Chance for Peace speech of 1953. Eisenhower's idea was diverting savings from nuke disarmament toward fighting hunger and poverty. If enacted, such a plan would enhance stability for all.

Once the U.S. and Russian nuclear disarmament plan is underway, China could begin participating. The three leading nuclear weapons powers could then work together to avoid a dangerous and costly nuclear arms race that we saw during the Cold War.

As the Arms Control Association explains “The experience of the Cold War teaches us that an unconstrained arms race has no winners, only losers. Leaders in Moscow, Beijing, and Washington need to seize the opportunity to engage in nuclear risk reduction talks, negotiate sensible and verifiable reductions of their arsenals, and refrain from building new destabilizing types of weapons, rather than proceed down a "lose-lose" path of nuclear competition.”

Citizens can write to their representatives encouraging them to sign the resolution (H.Res. 1079 and S. Res. 593) and become active in nuclear arms control. People can encourage nuclear weapons reductions by joining grassroots activist groups like Back from the Brink. This brings together communities to advocate for nuclear disarmament.

Democrats and Republicans can work together to protect Americans from the danger of nukes, reducing and hopefully eliminating these weapons.

William Lambers is the author of “Nuclear Weapons, The Road to Peace” and partnered with the U.N. World Food Program on the book “Ending World Hunger.”