The International Treaties that have protected us from Nuclear War
and are now in jeopardy
and are now in jeopardy
INF Intermediate-Range Forces Treaty. Signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, ratified by both the US and Soviet Union in 1988. It removed from Europe about 3000 short to medium range (300 to 3000 miles), land based nuclear missiles, warheads and launchers, to prevent nuclear war in Eastern Europe. NATO and Russia have continued to threaten each other, but since the treaty went into effect, escalation to nuclear war has been prevented, and IAEA inspections have successfully monitored all parties in the region. Treaty Text is here inf_treaty.pdf
New START New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. This agreement extended the first START, which had been signed by George H W Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991, and expanded the list of weapons to be reduced by both Russia and the US, following the success of the INF. START 1 was in force from 1994 until 2008, and during that time reduced the numbers of nuclear warheads and delivery systems on both sides by 80%. When it ended, it was renegotiated and signed by Barack Obama and by Dmitry Medvedev as New START in 2010. It called for further reductions in deployed warheads to 1550 for each nation, and similar reductions in launch vehicles. At present, the specified numbers have been reached, but both sides still maintain about 4000 more warheads, stored but available. The treaty is due to expire in 2021, unless Russia and US begin new talks in 2020 to reauthorize it, and continue monitoring inspections by IAEA. Current rhetoric by Putin and Trump put the future of this treaty in serious doubt. Treaty Text is here
New START New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. This agreement extended the first START, which had been signed by George H W Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991, and expanded the list of weapons to be reduced by both Russia and the US, following the success of the INF. START 1 was in force from 1994 until 2008, and during that time reduced the numbers of nuclear warheads and delivery systems on both sides by 80%. When it ended, it was renegotiated and signed by Barack Obama and by Dmitry Medvedev as New START in 2010. It called for further reductions in deployed warheads to 1550 for each nation, and similar reductions in launch vehicles. At present, the specified numbers have been reached, but both sides still maintain about 4000 more warheads, stored but available. The treaty is due to expire in 2021, unless Russia and US begin new talks in 2020 to reauthorize it, and continue monitoring inspections by IAEA. Current rhetoric by Putin and Trump put the future of this treaty in serious doubt. Treaty Text is here