Sacked staff and rusty sites: Trump’s nuke test plans run into trouble
The president says the US needs to resume explosions to keep up with China and Russia. Even a simple test would cost millions, but that’s not the hardest part.
Adam Taylor, Karen DeYoung, Tara Copp and Evan Halper
Washington | President Donald Trump’s announcement that he has ordered the United States to resume nuclear testing “immediately” – a move that could overturn a global taboo against the practice that has lasted three decades – has drawn confusion and alarm from some experts, who argue that physical testing is outdated and would add momentum to an arms race it aims to counter.
The move, however, relies on an argument popular within the Trump administration that testing is necessary to combat a rising proliferation threat from states like Russia, China and North Korea, all of which have modernised their systems in recent years.
