Strategic Context and Cost Realities
Recent statements by President Donald J. Trump have reinforced longstanding concerns regarding the unsustainable cost trajectory of the United States’ nuclear weapons program, the instability of a world without arms control, and the opportunity to achieve denuclearization through assertive diplomacy.
Read MoreNegotiating a satisfactory agreement with Iran on its nuclear program will clearly be difficult, and the effort may well not succeed. Nevertheless, any immediate attack on its facilities would be a tragic mistake. Read the full statement
Read MoreWe agree with your statement during your campaign, about the danger which nuclear weapons present to the security of the United States of America, and to world security. We write to suggest one area in which you have the power to reduce that danger substantially. In 2022, in the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress directed the Secretary of Defense to “provide for the conduct of an independent review of the safety, security and reliability of covered nuclear systems”(U.S Department of Defence “2022 Nuclear Posture Review,” October 27, 2022). The anticipated report of the task force which has been conducting that review will be of utmost importance.
Read MoreAt the 79th UN General Assembly in New York, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed Iran’s willingness to re-engage with parties involved in the nuclear deal during his address to the At the 79th UN General Assembly in New York, on September 24th, 2024. This was a week prior to Iran’s missile barrage on Israel’s military facilities. The stated willingness of Iran’s new president presents an opportunity which must not be neglected. Many commentators have argued, and perhaps rightly so, that the chances to curb or roll back Iran’s nuclear program are slim. Yet, it is imperative to seize even the smallest chance for preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state.
Read MoreIn a June 10, 2024 letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, LCNP observes that serious problems with the Sentinel ICBM project include massive cost overruns, development delays, supply chain and skilled labor shortage issues, as well as the inherently destabilizing nature of land-based missiles due to their vulnerability to attack. However, one issue which thus far has not received the attention it deserves is the diversion of funds from more pressing defense and security issues.
Read MoreVolkert Ohm of IALANA Germany, LCNP’s John Burroughs, and Jacqueline Cabasso of Western States Legal Foundation, an LCNP advisor, provide comments for this IPS story by Thalif Deen.
Read MoreThe new US land-based missile program, Sentinel, is experiencing major cost overruns. This provides an opportunity to revisit the decision to deploy the Sentinel missiles to replace the existing Minuteman III land-based missiles.
Read MoreAn LCNP Response to the Report of the Congressional Commission on the U.S. Strategic Posture.
Read MoreVirtual conference held November 8, 2023. This conference addressed the continuing and heightened dangers of nuclear war accentuated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threats to use nuclear weapons.
Read MoreThe International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms has issued a statement titled “The Illegality of U.S. Cluster Munitions Delivery to Ukraine under International Law – and the Positive Obligation of the U.S. to Avoid or Minimize the Humanitarian Suffering Caused by These Weapons.”
Read MoreLCNP Senior Analyst talks about the Doomsday Clock and more with John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby on the WABC show Cats and Cosby.
Read MoreJohn Burroughs and host Philip Muldari discuss the Christopher Nolan biopic on KPFA’s Sunday Show. They talk about what was good about the film, including its depiction of the vicious McCarthy-era sidelining of Robert Oppenheimer, leader of the effort to design the first atomic bombs but after World War II a voice for restraint. And they talk about what is missing, not least that the Manhattan project was a vast industrial enterprise for production of plutonium and uranium 235, not just scientists gathered together at Los Alamos, New Mexico to design the bombs.
Read MoreLCNP Board member Elizabeth Shafer explores the persistent impact of racism on the nuclear field as well as the legacy of racism in nuclear weapons development and testing programs:
“Racism has been deeply embedded for decades in nuclear issues, as in all areas, in the U.S. and internationally. This issue must be addressed and attitudes toward it—often subtle but always crucial—must be confronted to resolve this dilemma.”
Read MoreLawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy invited esteemed colleagues for an informative discussion offering an overview the NIF's fusion achievement alongside an historical look at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab and its relevance to the US nuclear weapons program, an exploration of how this development implicates international law, and a critique of the relevance of the NIF to the development of nuclear fusion-driven energy.
Read MoreLawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, jointly with Western States Legal Foundation and IALANA Germany, made a submission in April 2023 to the United Nations Human Rights Council addressing the Russian Federation’s nuclear weapons policy and practice in advance of its upcoming Universal Periodic Review.
Read MoreIn response to the call for civil society organizations to share priorities and recommendations for a "New Agenda for Peace" ("the Agenda"), Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy offers the following comments, addressing in particular the commitments to (1) promote peace and prevent conflicts; and (2) abide by international law and ensure justice.
Read MoreNEW YORK (IDN) — The recent US allegation of Russian noncompliance with the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) cannot be adequately understood outside of the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Russian invasion, initiated nearly one year ago, was marked early on by insistent and illegal threats of nuclear use, intended to dissuade Western nuclear and nuclear-allied states from "interference" in Ukraine.
Read MoreIn January 2023, the Sorensen Center for International Peace and Justice hosted LCNP Executive Director Ariana Smith, LCNP Board Member and ICAN UN Liaison Seth Shelden, and former LCNP Intern and Center for International Policy Junior Fellow Hadeel Abu Ktaish for a dynamic conversation about law and nuclear weapons in the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. This event explored in particular the role of the TPNW and identified action items for all to engage disarmament advocacy.
Read MoreThe Biden Administration, at the end of last month, released its unclassified version of the National Defense Strategy (NDS) and Nuclear Posture Review (NPR).
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