This Time, Ban the Test

“The second Senate debate on the test ban treaty pits an old way of thinking about nuclear war against today’s totally different threat,” writes Jessica Mathews of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mathews argues that scientists have developed the technology needed to ensure reliability of nuclear weapons without testing.  She added that North Korea’s underground test in 2006 was detected instantly with available technology. “Giving up nuclear tests enhances security,” says Mathews, “after 17 years of a voluntary, unilateral test ban, the United States bears most of the costs of the treaty without its benefits.”