The United States insists: do not ratify the Treaty Against Nuclear Weapons. which remains a dead letter

The United States will not ratify the global Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This was confirmed yesterday by Jill Haroubi, Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security in the Biden administration and head of the US National Nuclear Security Agency.

“The treaty and its monitoring and verification system are more important than ever, and the United States appreciates the efforts of countries in this direction – Hrubi said – however, there are still obstacles of a political and technical nature to the ratification of the United States.”

chosen place To express a position that could not be more formal: Hroubi spoke at the opening of the biennial scientific conference of the international organization that oversees the treaty, held in Vienna. From the prestigious Hofburg Hall, the former residence of the Habsburgs, within compliance with the moratorium: “The United States has not conducted nuclear tests since 1992.”

There was much anticipation for the Under Secretary’s speech to a thousand scholars and diplomats. But there was little hope that the United States might want to resume the disarmament path that began in the 1990s. In 1996, President Bill Clinton was one of the first to sign the treaty. Just three years later, the Republican-majority Senate voted against the ratification needed to implement it, prompting protests from then-Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.

Even Barack Obama, who made it a declared target, did not succeed in convincing the senators during his two terms in office. My escape’s words made it clear that the current administration would not even attempt to do so.

Without believing The treaty remains a dead letter. In words, (almost) everyone agrees. It was signed by 186 countries and ratified by 177. In Vienna, Somalia’s foreign minister also announced the imminent signing and ratification. But for its entry into force, countries that possess nuclear technology are needed: in addition to the USA, China, Iran, Israel and Egypt have not translated it into law. India, Pakistan and North Korea even lack membership.

Despite the diplomatic difficulties, the treaty was not in vain and established a de facto moratorium on nuclear testing. After more than two thousand years of the last century, in the new millennium, only North Korea implemented one. International tensions now call into question everything.

In the spring, South Korea expressed its intention to get the bomb, which required new experiments: for the time being, it gave up only in exchange for strengthening cooperation with the United States against Pyongyang. In Japan, too, debate has gone on for years about the opportunity to develop a nuclear arsenal, given the turmoil in the region. In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if the United States conducts new tests, Russia will also resume its own.

in Vienna Hruby ensured that in the future the United States would confine itself to so-called “subcritical” nuclear tests, in which conventional explosives and very small amounts of plutonium are used to set in motion the chain reaction that leads to an atomic detonation. The treaty does not prohibit subcritical tests.

Since the 1990s, the United States has carried out 33 operations and, Haroubi explained, “will continue at a rate of about three each year until 2030.” It will take place about 300 meters underground at a national security site in Nevada, but the US promises “transparency” and even live broadcasts. The atomic age with its secrets and lies is not over yet.