By: Savannah Smith | 02-24-2017 | News
Photo credit: The Goldwater

Trump Declares U.S. Must Be " At The Top Of The Pack" In Nuclear Arsenal

President Donald Trump has consistently pushed since the campaign for the strengthening of the U.S. military, for the forces and the country to regain the world's respect, but for the first time since a controversial Twitter message in December, Trump has declared earlier today that he wants to ensure that the U.S. nuclear arsenal is at the " top of the pack". The President has unfortunately lamented that the country has fallen behind in its weapons capacity.

In December last year, the 2016 presidential election winner then tweeted that the U.S. must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capacity "until such time that the world comes to its senses regarding nukes." Earlier, he expressed his sentiments again for the first time since taking over the White House on January 20 last month and reiterated that he would like to see a world with no nuclear weapons but also expressed concern that the country has "fallen behind on nuclear weapon capacity."

President Trump said personally he would be the first who would like to see a world without nukes but emphatically stressed also that the U.S. should never fall behind, even with friendly countries, on nuclear power. Trump said that while it would be a " wonderful dream" for countries not to have nukes, but if they are going to have nukes, then it's a must for the U.S. to be "at the top of the pack".

According to the Ploughshares Fund, an anti-nuclear group, Russia has 7,000 warheads while the U.S. has 6, 800. Another non-profit organization, the independent Arms Control Association, said that both Russia and the U.S. have far more weapons that is necessary to deter nuclear attack by the other or by any another nuclear-armed country.

The U.S. and Russia have a standing new strategic arms limitation treaty known as New START which requires the two nations to limit their arsenals of strategic nuclear weapons to equal levels for 10 years by February 5, 2018. The treaty also allows both countries to have no more than 800 deployed and non-deployed land-based intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers and heavy bombers equipped to carry nuclear weapons, and contains equal limits on other nuclear weapons.

President Trump has previously criticized the deal describing it "one-sided", and declared that under his administration, they will start making good deals.

The U.S. is currently in the midst of a $1 trillion, 30-year modernization of its aging ballistic missile submarines, bombers and land-based missiles.

Trump also said that he considers it a big deal that Russia has deployed of a ground-based cruise missile, in violation of a 1987 treaty that bans land-based American and Russian intermediate-range missiles. The President also said he might bring up the matter with Putin "if and when they meet".

The President also singled out North Korea's ballistic missile tests and said accelerating a missile defense system for U.S. allies Japan and South Korea was among many options available in containing the rogue state's nuclear arms expansion.

Source : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/trump-wants-to-make-sure-us-nuclear-arsenal-at-top-of-the-pack/3545682.html?cid=fbcna

Share this article
Thoughts on the above story? Comment below!
0 comment/s
What do you think about this article?
Name
Comment *
Image

Recent News

Popular Stories