Nuclear testing and national security

Since the 1950s, the United States has negotiated more than fifteen arms control agreements, several of which limited nuclear explosive testing by the signatories. Negotiations on another treaty on nuclear testing have been ongoing in Geneva since October 1977, between the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. This treaty would go beyond previous agreements limiting nuclear testing and impose a total ban on all nuclear explosive testing. Proponents of this Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty suggest that it will inhibit the further spread of nuclear weapons technology, lessen the superpower arms race, and be a stabilizing force in world affairs. This monograph contends that US support of this agreement is inconsistent with the US doctrine of strategic nuclear deterrence. Without testing to modernize US nuclear weapons, the United States cannot have an effective nuclear deterrent force.