How Risky is US Nuclear Strategy?

How risky is the United States’ current nuclear strategy? Right now, no one knows! Join a former Director of the National Security Agency and other prominent individuals in asking Congress to authorize an objective study of the risk. The proposed study is a step toward a more reasoned national security strategy.

If requested by Congress and performed by the National Academies, a risk analysis of nuclear deterrence has the potential to bring greater objectivity to the debate over our nuclear posture. The National Academies have frequently been called on by the government to provide objective, impartial advice on similar matters, as exemplified by a current study of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The major difference is that, in the case of nuclear deterrence, it is essential to mitigate the risk before disaster strikes, not afterward.

The National Academies is the umbrella organization for the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. These institutions were created by Congress to provide objective advice to the nation on matters of importance. Unlike an international treaty, which requires a 2/3 vote in the Senate, a single, motivated member of Congress could make this study happen.

Please write to your Representative and Senators today and ask them to take a leading role in requesting a study by the National Academies of the risks of current US nuclear strategy.