U.S. Launches Missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base

Today, at 1:26 am, the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command conducted an unarmed, but nuclear-capable Minuteman III ICBM test launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, contributing to already heightened global tensions, and adding to the cacophony of nuclear saber-rattling that threatens to destroy everything we hold dear.

Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles condemns this most recent test and calls on the U.S. government to immediately lead global negotiations toward a verifiable, time-bound agreement on the elimination of all nuclear weapons worldwide. We must step Back from the Brink before it is too late, and we should be working to de-escalate tensions rather than contributing to them. In addition to halting these tests, there are other common sense steps the U.S. government can take, for example declaring a No First Use policy, ending the President’s sole authority to launch weapons, and taking nuclear weapons off of hair-trigger alert.

Abolishing nuclear weapons is both possible and practicable. Globally, over 50,000 nuclear weapons have been dismantled to date, and there are numerous pathways to eliminate the rest. Nearly all nuclear weapons-possessing states have legally agreed to abolish nuclear weapons through the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and nearly half of the world’s countries have ratified and/or signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. All that’s missing is the political will for the U.S. to lead the negotiations.

PSR-LA has worked for over 40 years to abolish the existential threat of nuclear weapons and protect the public from radioactive exposure. The test at Vandenberg today is a continuation of the arms race that has created a less stable world and robbed our communities of resources that could be better spent on things that actually make people safer and more secure, like housing and healthcare. We urge elected officials at all levels of government to speak out in support of nuclear abolition, and to call on the U.S. to prepare for these negotiations immediately.

Visit www.preventnuclearwar.org and get involved today!