Dear Editor,
President Trump’s call to resume nuclear weapons testing is not just a break with decades of restraint—it is a dangerous step backward. For over 30 years, the United States has honored a moratorium on nuclear testing, recognizing that detonating these weapons endangers global stability, public health, and our moral leadership.
Trump claims we must “match” Russia and China, yet both nations have largely adhered to the same testing freeze. Restarting tests now risks igniting a new arms race, undermining the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and sending a reckless message to adversaries and allies alike.
Here in Arizona, we know the legacy of nuclear fallout. Downwind communities like ours have already paid the price for past tests—through cancer clusters, contaminated soil, and broken trust. To resume testing is to reopen those wounds and gamble with future generations.
This is not a strength. It is provocation. Real leadership means securing peace through diplomacy, verification, and restraint—not through radioactive bravado.
I urge our representatives, especially those who claim to defend life and liberty, to reject this escalation. Let us not trade our children’s safety for a headline. The time is ripe to change our leadership.
Susan Stone
Well said and agree 100 percent