Reference News Network, November 5 report: The website of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies in the United States published an article titled "Will the US Resume Nuclear Testing? It Is Neither Necessary Nor Wise" on November 3. The author is Steven Pifer. The following is a translation of the article:

President Trump said last week that he had ordered the Department of Defense to resume the United States' nuclear weapons testing. Four days later, Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified that the United States does not intend to conduct nuclear explosion tests.

In fact, the United States does not need to conduct nuclear warhead explosion tests. The long-running nuclear weapons stockpile management program ensures that the nuclear warheads in the U.S. arsenal are safe, reliable, and effective, without the need for explosion tests.

Resuming tests would be unwise. Potential adversaries will criticize the United States for accelerating the nuclear arms race while using the U.S. tests as an excuse to conduct their own nuclear tests, thereby weakening the U.S. leadership in nuclear weapon knowledge.

Before Trump's post, Russia tested the "Zircon" cruise missile and the "Poseidon" nuclear-powered submarine, both designed to carry nuclear warheads. However, the Russian tests involved delivery systems, not the nuclear warheads themselves. Trump clearly knew, or at least should have known, that the U.S. military regularly tests its nuclear delivery systems. For example, in September this year, the U.S. Navy conducted four test launches of the Trident D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

On November 2, Wright seemed to calm the controversy. He stated that the government would not resume nuclear explosion tests but would conduct "non-critical explosions." This obviously refers to "subcritical tests," which do not produce nuclear explosions or release nuclear energy. In an interview broadcast on November 2, Trump reiterated his position on resuming nuclear testing. However, this interview was recorded on October 31. Before making a statement that appeared to contradict the president's previous remarks, Wright probably had already confirmed with the White House.

In his post on October 29, Trump claimed he issued the order to resume tests because "other countries' test programs." In fact, almost all nuclear-armed countries have suspended nuclear testing since 1998.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996 further strengthened this consensus on suspending nuclear tests, prohibiting any nuclear weapons tests or explosions (the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 required all tests to be conducted underground). However, the CTBT has never come into force, partly because the United States has not ratified it. Nevertheless, according to international law, signatory states must not take actions that undermine the treaty's core objectives before it comes into force. Therefore, conducting nuclear tests is illegal unless the United States formally withdraws from the CTBT. The "subcritical tests" mentioned by Wright do not produce nuclear yield and therefore do not violate the CTBT.

The United States has no need to resume nuclear explosion tests. Thirty years ago, the United States launched the nuclear weapons stockpile management program, managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which uses supercomputers and advanced technologies to ensure the safety, reliability, and effectiveness of nuclear weapons without the need for nuclear explosion tests.

According to this program, the directors of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, along with the commander of the Strategic Command, annually certify the reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons. The conclusions of these certifications are that there is no technical need to conduct nuclear explosion tests.

Moreover, regardless of anything, the United States cannot immediately resume nuclear testing. The Biden administration set a goal that if a decision is made to resume nuclear testing, a subterranean nuclear test could be completed within "36 months." Nevada will oppose the resumption of nuclear explosion tests in the state. Las Vegas is only about 100 kilometers away from the Nevada National Security Site (the original site for underground nuclear tests). The population of the Las Vegas city area is more than three times that of 1992 (the last nuclear explosion test).

Finally, the resumption of nuclear testing in the United States would be of no help to Trump's efforts to win the Nobel Peace Prize. (Translated by Guo Jun)

A mushroom cloud rises from a nuclear explosion at the Nevada Test Site on June 24, 1957. (AP photo)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569078582878700067/

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