Originally posted by AFP:

US reveals nuclear bomb numbers after Trump blackout

published : 6 Oct 2021 at 07:45

WASHINGTON - The US State Department published on Tuesday the number of nuclear warheads the country stockpiles for the first time in four years, after former president Donald Trump placed a blackout on the data.

As of September 30, 2020, the US military maintained 3,750 active and inactive nuclear warheads, down by 55 from a year earlier and by 72 from the same date in 2017.

The figure was also the lowest level since the US nuclear stockpile peaked at the height of the Cold War with Russia in 1967, when the total was 31,255 warheads.

The numbers were released Tuesday amid an effort by the administration of President Joe Biden to restart arms controls talks with Russia after they stalled under Trump.

"Increasing the transparency of states' nuclear stockpiles is important to nonproliferation and disarmament efforts," the State Department said in a statement.

Trump, who pulled the United States from the Iran nuclear deal and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia, also left another crucial pact, the New Start Treaty on the rocks last year before its scheduled expiration on February 5.

New Start caps the number of nuclear warheads held by Washington and Moscow, and letting it expire could have sparked a reversal of warhead reductions on both sides.

Trump said he wanted a new deal that includes China, which only has a fraction of the warheads that the United States and Russia have.

Biden, who came in to office on January 20, immediately proposed a five-year extension to New Start, which Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly agreed to.

The deal caps at 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed by Moscow and Washington.

Last week Russian and US diplomats held talks behind closed doors in Geneva to begin discussions on a successor to New Start and also controls on conventional weapons.

A US official called the talks "productive," but both sides said the mere fact of holding the talks was positive.

According to a January 2021 tally by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which includes retired warheads -- not counted in the State Department's numbers -- the United States had 5,550 warheads, compared to 6,255 in Russia, 350 in China, 225 in Britain, and 290 in France.

India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have together around 460 nuclear warheads, according to the institute.

US Discloses Size of Nuclear Stockpile for First Time Since 2018[web.archive.org]
US reveals nuclear bomb numbers after Trump blackout[web.archive.org]
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Originally posted by amateur:

6 Oct 2021

Glad to see the Biden Administration resuming the Obama-era practice of being transparent about the size of the US nuclear stockpile. A thread.

Which brings me to my point: Why declassify the stockpile number when the Russia and China won't do the same? Precisely because Russia and China won't! It's good to make it clear around the world, especially to our allies, that the US is not the same as Russia or China.

This problem is tougher today. In the Cold War, conservatives were staunchly anti-Soviet and, therefore, tolerably Atlanticist. Today? The gravity of support for the transatlantic alliance is located on the center-left of the political debate. Today's far-right types love Putin.

Transparency and good-faith efforts to reduce nuclear dangers are an important part of a reassurance strategy to mobilize opposition in Europe to Russia's crazy nuclear programs like the doomsday torpedo, the nuclear-powered cruise missile, and so on.

Releasing the size of the stockpile is a small but helpful part of that; a way to illustrate that we're different. All of which is to say to the USG: Good job! I fully expected you to shoot yourself in the foot -- and you proved me wrong.

https://web.archive.org/web/20211006220015/https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/1445590576808673281
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Originally posted by globaltimes:

Despite disclosure, US still not transparent in nuclear arsenals

By Song Zhongping Published: Oct 07, 2021 07:27 PM

The US State Department on Tuesday disclosed the number of nuclear weapons in the US stockpile, according to Associated Press (AP). The State Department said that the number of US nuclear weapons stood at 3,750 as of September 2020, including those in active status and in long-term storage. The number is down from 3,805 in 2019 and 3,785 in 2018.

Disclosing the number of nuclear weapons is a reversal of the Trump administration's policy. One of the important reasons why the Biden administration disclosed this sensitive information now is that the US is making efforts to restart arms controls talks with Russia. During the process of negotiations, Washington needs to disclose the number and make it seem transparent.

The US is trying to leave the world an impression that it is reducing nuclear weapons. Another purpose of the US is to drag China into the negotiation of nuclear arms control with the US and Russia. By hyping China will "soon surpass Russia" as the US' "top nuclear threat," Washington has also tried to rope in Moscow to press China to join the negotiation. However, China has only a fraction of the number of nuclear warheads that the US has. It is not China that poses a so-called threat to the world, but the US nuclear weapons.

In fact, the number that Washington disclosed still lacks transparency. There is no worldwide verification mechanism to examine the exact number of nuclear weapons each country possesses. This means Washington can basically "disclose" whatever number it wants to.

According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), as of January 2021, the US had a total inventory of approximately 5,550 nuclear warheads, while China's number was 350. This is a huge gap. In addition to the 3,750 nuclear weapons that the US State Department disclosed, the US also has about 1,750 retired warheads awaiting dismantlement, according to SIPRI. Therefore, precisely speaking, the number 3,750 was not so true. It is also unlikely that Washington will dramatically reduce its number of nuclear weapons in the future.

On the one hand, the US has announced that the number of its nuclear weapons has decreased in recent years. Yet on the other hand, it is proliferating nuclear technology to other countries. AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership between the US, the UK and Australia, is an example. The US will share its nuclear submarine technology with Australia, a country that has neither nuclear weapons nor any nuclear power stations.

Upholding double standards, the US is precisely the initiator of global nuclear proliferation.

The US has another purpose: to replace old nuclear weapons with the new ones. To a great extent, the US' so-called declining number of nuclear weapons is because the country needs to eliminate old weapons, as the new ones are being developed. After its nuclear weapons are updated, the total inventory may not change too much.

For example, the US Navy is now developing the Columbia-class submarine. This is an upcoming class of nuclear submarines scheduled to enter service in 2031. And the US Air Force is developing the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, which is able to deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons. All of these facts indicate that the US is strengthening its strategic nuclear force, and imposing serious threats to the whole world.

The number of US' nuclear warheads is enough to destroy all humanity. This being the case, the US should have taken the lead in reducing its nuclear weapons, instead of updating them. If the US wants to reach a good result with nuclear arms control negotiations and fulfill US President Joe Biden's stated desire to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in US policy, it must critically rethink its steps.

The author is a Chinese military expert and commentator.

opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

https://web.archive.org/web/20211008024103/https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202110/1235739.shtml
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Originally posted by AFP:

The figure was also the lowest level since the US nuclear stockpile peaked at the height of the Cold War with Russia in 1967, when the total was 31,255 warheads.

Nice try U.S. propagandists, this may work on the 2.5 Petabytes smaller crania low IQs, but never on Koreans.

This latest clumsy trick is in no way a concession, as the U.S. military's declared 3'750 nuclear warheads as of September 2020 are only a small part of the total WMD in the U.S. possession.

Compared to the Cold War era record 31'255 warheads, the total number of superweapons in the U.S. arsenal as of 2021 has not decreased but is on the contrary increasing!


Indeed, the U.S. is currently hell-bent completing the shift of their old obsolete nuclear warheads arsenal with new cutting edge orbital Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) platforms, that have superseded the Cold War era technologies, with waves of Falcon-9 space launches.

When completed by 2027 the total number of Starlink weapons will reach 42'000 or an 34% increase compared to the Cold War era arsenal of 1967!

And, this number does not even take into account the most secretive and even more powerful true WMD, the highly classified orbital array of mind-control satellites. If added, the total number of U.S. space weapons could reach 60'000 to 100'000 within 6 years!

Thus, making the U.S. nuclear warheads at best anecdotic, and sadly as it was from day one, a mere diversion for the gullible world masses.

Worse, this most reckless buildup of orbital microwave DEW arsenal will provide the U.S. hegemon with unprecedented offensive and defensive capabilities, thus totally shattering the world's balance of power, making nuclear powers such as Russia ultimately irrelevant!


DEW: How it started[web.archive.org]
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Request No-fly zone[web.archive.org]
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