Oppose Nuclear Missile Test Launches

The United States regularly test-launches nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, to the Marshall Islands.

Each test costs tens of millions of dollars -- money which is desperately needed to meet domestic needs and contribute to genuine security here at home. As important as the budgetary implications, such tests also foster international distrust and sow the seeds of future, potentially nuclear-armed conflicts.

The continued testing of Minuteman III nuclear-capable missiles is a clear example of U.S. double standards. The U.S. government hypocritically believes that it is fine to test-fire these missiles time and again, while expressing criticism and even outrage when other countries conduct tests of relatively primitive, shorter-range missiles. Such double standards may encourage nuclear proliferation and make the world an even more dangerous place.

The testing of these missiles undermines the credibility of President Obama's stated commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and United States obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and other international agreements.

The American people cannot afford the current level of U.S. military spending, which roughly equals the military spending of the rest of the world combined. A recharged and expanded nuclear arms race will further compound the problem. I call on President Obama to take the following steps:

1. Cancel the February 25, 2012 ICBM test-launch.

2. Fulfill the legal requirement, binding on the United States under the 1970 Nonproliferation Treaty, to end the nuclear arms race “at an early date” and to negotiate “in good faith” the elimination of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery.