How Many More Nuclear Tests? : Sen. Nunn suggests, reasonably and rightly, probably the fewer the better

The paradoxes of the Cold Peace are as strange as those of the Cold War. The supreme Cold War paradox, of course, was trillions of dollars spent on each side to prepare for a war that neither side could possibly win. The Cold Peace paradox is billions of dollars spent to prepare for a war that has already been won.

Moscow has offered the West something close to ultimate nuclear disarmament: a selloff of the uranium in the stockpiled Soviet warheads to any interested Western government or corporation.

Commercial interests, notably General Atomics of San Diego, are warmly interested. And what those interests don’t buy, Western governments would be well-advised to buy not just to consummate the end of the Cold War but also to prevent the rise of a black market in the lethal mineral.

From what U.S. pocket should cash be transferred to buy post-Soviet uranium? One pocket is the “Star Wars” pocket. More than $4 billion remains in that budget, though the last test for the system’s nuclear-pumped X-ray laser weapon was quietly scratched two weeks ago. About $27 billion has already been squandered in this program. Why squander more preparing to shoot down what is being offered for sale on the open market?

Another pocket worth picking is the nuclear testing pocket. The Bush Administration maintains that underground nuclear tests are necessary to guarantee the safety and reliability of a U.S. deterrent whose post-Cold War relevance is global. After all, there are other nuclear-armed nations around besides Russia, and more potential ones in the offing. Arms experts Paul H. Nitze and Siegfried S. Hecker contend that tests are necessary, in addition, to “help preserve the competence and judgment of the scientists and engineers.” The Administration wants to conduct as many as six such tests a year. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wants more stringent limitations, presumably not just on the number but also on the kind of tests conducted. Nunn maintains that tests should be completely phased out over three to five years.

Russia has declared a unilateral nuclear testing moratorium, and Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin has expressed the hope that the United States might do so as well. France, with an economy strong enough to support testing, has also declared a moratorium. Maybe France knows something Washington doesn’t. Meanwhile, we support Sen. Nunn’s attempt to resolve part of the Cold Peace paradox. These tests may cost less than the $100 million wasted in preparation for the canceled X-ray laser test, but they aren’t free either. We would like to see as many dollars as possible spent buying out our erstwhile enemy’s weapons and as few as possible spent preparing to shoot them down.