Zero is the Wrong Number

Abstract

President Obama’s focus on further reducing the number of strategic weapons of Russia and the US, with the ultimate goal of zeroing out such arms, reflects Cold War priorities. Such a reduction will not lead other nations — such as India, Pakistan, and North Korea — to follow suit. The main priorities ought to be place where terrorists may gain nuclear arms, in particular Pakistan, or materials to make bombs, especially in Russia (not from strategic arms, but from fissible material) and the many tactical bombs not covered by the U.S.-Russia START treaty. And from rogue states such as North Korea and possibly Iran.

Also note that the "disarmed" warheads are merely stored and not dismantled. Last but not least, if we ever approached zero, the IR system would become particularly unstable.