But their withdrawal from monitored storage would be politically very difficult. This de-alerting measure is the closest in spirit to nuclear disarmament, but for that reason it will also be the most difficult to accomplish. Moreover, Russia does not currently have secure storage for all its warheads, and so could not safely separate its warheads from their delivery systems. De-alerting is essential for safeguarding the planet, and it is a big step toward complete nuclear disarmament. But disarmament is highly unlikely to come about until Russia, China, India, and other countries are satisfied that the United States would not use nonnuclear advanced weapons to destroy their economies.
Nuclear disarmament requires a profound change in political, military, and moral culture worldwide.
Such change may not come quickly. But in the meantime, the least we can do is to ensure that nuclear war does not break out because of a computer malfunction, an accidental launch, or some miscommunication. The best way to ensure that this doesn't happen is to de-alert nuclear weapons. The time to do that is now. Arjun Makhijani is the president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Takoma Park, Maryland.