White House Discussing Possible Resumption of Nuclear Testing
The White House has been discussing the possible resumption of testing nuclear devices as a means to pressure Russia and China to come to the bargaining table.
Nuclear testing was completely banned in 1991 when George H. W. Bush signed the START treaty. Resuming tests now would send a clear message that the U.S. wants another arms control treaty, this time involving China. China has rebuffed the suggestion, saying its nuclear arsenal is tiny compared to those of Russia and America. But the Chinese military is building missiles as fast as it can, and putting the brakes on China’s efforts makes sense.
The White House meeting discussing the testing option was a “deputies level” meeting, meaning it didn’t involve any cabinet secretaries or the president.
The discussion was first reported on Friday night by the Washington Post, which cited a senior administration official as saying that a demonstration to Moscow and Beijing that the United States could carry out a “rapid test” could be a useful bargaining counter in the achieving the administration’s priority on arms control – a trilateral deal with Russia and China.
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