What the U.S. Withdrawal from 1988 Nuclear Forces Treaty Means for Arms Control

By Steve Bynum
Commander of demolishing group Lieutenant Colonel I. Chaikovsky seen giving interview to the soviet and foreign newsperson in connection with the elimination of the soviet shorter-range missiles, OTR-22, known in the west as SS-12 at the test range in Saryozek 200 km north west of Alma Ata, capital of Kazakhstan, Aug. 1, 1988, in accordance with the Soviet-U.S. INF treaty.
Commander of demolishing group Lieutenant Colonel I. Chaikovsky seen giving interview to the soviet and foreign newsperson in connection with the elimination of the soviet shorter-range missiles, OTR-22, known in the west as SS-12 at the test range in Saryozek 200 km north west of Alma Ata, capital of Kazakhstan, Aug. 1, 1988, in accordance with the Soviet-U.S. INF treaty. TASS / AP Photo
Commander of demolishing group Lieutenant Colonel I. Chaikovsky seen giving interview to the soviet and foreign newsperson in connection with the elimination of the soviet shorter-range missiles, OTR-22, known in the west as SS-12 at the test range in Saryozek 200 km north west of Alma Ata, capital of Kazakhstan, Aug. 1, 1988, in accordance with the Soviet-U.S. INF treaty.
Commander of demolishing group Lieutenant Colonel I. Chaikovsky seen giving interview to the soviet and foreign newsperson in connection with the elimination of the soviet shorter-range missiles, OTR-22, known in the west as SS-12 at the test range in Saryozek 200 km north west of Alma Ata, capital of Kazakhstan, Aug. 1, 1988, in accordance with the Soviet-U.S. INF treaty. TASS / AP Photo

What the U.S. Withdrawal from 1988 Nuclear Forces Treaty Means for Arms Control

By Steve Bynum

President Donald Trump has indicated he will pull the U.S. out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). He alleges Russian treaty violations and Chinese weapons proliferation as justifications. The treaty’s advent, viewed as a seminal moment towards ending the Cold War, cut thousands of land-based nuclear missiles from America’s and Russia’s arsenals. Critics fear President Trump’s move could start another global arms race. To discuss with us the implications is Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, a non-proliferation NGO.