Saving nuclear arms control

Despite a great reduction in the number of nuclear arms in the wake of the Cold War, the chance of their use is paradoxically higher than at any time since the tense years of the early 1980s. Recent confrontations between the United States and Russia might be the immediate cause, but the entire arms control system has been headed for a crisis for years. Facing the devastating threat of nuclear war once again, Washington and Moscow must not only unfreeze ties in general but also work together to salvage the hard-wrought gains of nuclear arms control.