Myth:  Countries with nuclear weapons “deter” nuclear attacks from other nuclear countries.  Where is the evidence?  The fact that they have not been used since the US bombed Japan in 1945 is NOT evidence of successful deterrence.   Nuclear weapons cannot “prevent” or “defend” against a nuclear attack — they can only retaliate, resulting in mutually assured destruction (MAD).

Myth: Countries with nuclear weapons are “safer” from attack by conventional weapons.  Where is the evidence?  Nuclear weapons cannot protect against conventional (non-nuclear) weapons, and nuclear countries sometimes get attacked by non-nuclear countries (Israel by Egypt 1973, UK by Argentina 1982, nuclear India by pre-nuclear Pakistan 1999, etc.)  At the same time, non-nuclear countries, like, say, Denmark, tend not to be attacked by nuclear countries like, say, Russia.

Myth:  US possession of nuclear weapons will force other countries to disarm.  Where is the evidence?  Russia, China, and North Korea developed their nuclear weapons BECAUSE the US already had them.

Fact:  Nuclear weapons do provide jobs – jobs building weapons designed to annihilate whole cities.  We need those engineers and scientists and metalworkers to be solving our most pressing problems, like climate change.

The nuclear arms race has no military purpose.  Wars cannot be fought with nuclear weapons.  Their existence only adds to our perils because of the illusions they have generated.  – Lord Mountbatten, Strasbourg, 1979

 So, yes, we need nuclear weapons…to be eliminated before they eliminate us.  Let’s do it.