INF Treaty Latest Victim of Trump’s Nuclear Petulance

 In Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Trump Administration

Washington, D.C. — January 31, 2019 — Ahead of the Trump administration’s expected suspension of U.S. obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and formal announcement of its intention to withdraw from the treaty, Jon Rainwater, Executive Director of Peace Action, released the following statement:

“The INF Treaty put the kibosh on a class of particularly dangerous and destabilizing nuclear weapons, taking whole cities out of the nuclear cross hairs. Millions of people around the world marched and fought to pass the treaty. The U.S. and Russia have both accused the other of violating the treaty, but rather than working to address concerns and preserve the agreement through patient diplomacy, the Trump administration is just walking away.

“Unfortunately, this is only the latest turn in a procession of erratic and short-sighted nuclear policy shifts that make our nation and the world less safe. Withdrawing from the successful Iran nuclear agreement, accelerating nuclear weapons spending and the production of new nuclear weapons, and listing new scenarios in which the U.S. might use nuclear weapons are just a few of the steps this White House has taken towards the nuclear brink. If Trump’s goal were to increase the risk of nuclear war, he’d be checking all the right boxes.”

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Founded in 1957, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze), the United States’ largest peace and disarmament organization, with over 100,000 paid members and nearly 100 chapters in 36 states, works to abolish nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights and support nonmilitary solutions to international conflicts. The public may learn more and take action at www.PeaceAction.org.

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