Observations on the CTBT and Nonproliferation

摘要

The CTBT sits in a broad national security context. The stated purpose of the treaty is to ban nuclear testing and thereby slow nuclear proliferation. However, it also heightens issues of concern for U.S. national security related to stockpile stewardship, worldwide monitoring, and the status of other countries nuclear weapons programs. These issues were recognized during the negotiation of the CTBT and articulated, in August 1995, as the set of safeguards under which the U.S. would be willing to sign a CTBT. Safeguards A, B, C, and F address maintenance of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, Safeguard D addresses improved monitoring capabilities, and Safeguard E addresses the need to be knowledgeable about foreign nuclear programs.