Nation must adopt ‘No First Use’ policy on nukes

Recently, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked presidential candidates about a No First Use of nuclear weapons policy for the United States. Instead of referencing the fact that the majority of Americans support the United States adopting a policy that states the U.S. will never use nuclear weapons first, he used a pro-war frame, erroneously claiming No First Use ties the president’s hands.

The reality is that a No First Use policy for the United States would simply state the U.S. will not initiate a nuclear war.

Our leaders should be doing everything in their power to step back from the nuclear brink and when they do, the media should be applauding, not criticizing them.

Right now arms control treaties that reduce the amount of nuclear weapons in the world are falling apart, and a whole new generation of new nuclear weapons — ones more likely to be used — are being built. We’ve never been closer to a miscalculation that leads to nuclear war.

The world’s deadliest weapons will not go away unless we work to make it so. Today, 74 years after the first use of nuclear weapons in war, it’s more clear than ever that we must do more to prevent the use of these dangerous weapons and re-energize the public movement to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Vernon Huffman

Lynnwood