The second premise is that nuclear weapons, no matter who possesses them, do not provide security. Indeed, as the Government itself consistently argued, nuclear weapons degrade security both for nations and internationally. Such weapons are strategically irrational. Long term international nuclear policy must be based on the declared principle of continuous, complete and irrevocable elimination of nuclear weapons. The third premise is that the concept of nuclear deterrence must be categorically rejected on moral, political, legal and strategic grounds.
Deterrence theory is a mere article of faith, an unfalsifiable, unverifiable dogma.
It also assumes that those making decisions on nuclear weapons are accountable and hence act responsibly. This is demonstrably false in situations of conflict. Deterrence is unstable and quickly degenerates into an arms race, which has a profoundly irrational character. Both could be ruinous. There is no significant period in the past 50 years when an NWS did not stockpile weapons when others were also doing so.