One of the worst things a person could imagine is that someone close to them loses their life, this is why many people fear war and conflict since it puts themselves and their loved ones at a major risk. One case of a large casualty rate from war was when the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagaski in Japan, killing about 210,000 people in 1945. To nullify the threat of this happening again, all nuclear weapons were banned in 1961. Nuclear weapons have not been used since the ban was made, but the threat of nuclear warfare is rapidly approaching with countries such as Russia and China expanding their already large nuclear arsenal. If these weapons were used on another nation, it could have catastrophic results that could affect the entire planet for possibly decades. Moreover, many Americans have been left wondering what they should do about their nuclear arsenal, focus on removing nuclear weapons, or creating more. The United States should focus on increasing the strength of its nuclear arsenal.

One reason why the United States should focus on increasing the strength of its nuclear weapons is that the United States’ current nuclear weapons are very outdated and obsolete. The article, “US Nuclear Weapons Are Aging Quickly,” it states that “...members of the U.S. Air Force in teams of two who spend 24 hours straight below ground in front of analog terminals from the 1980s, decoding messages and running tests on the missiles’ systems to check if they could still launch if needed”(Copp 1,2). Due to the fact the technology is so outdated, it has people wasting so much time deciphering the esoteric messages, while if they used modern technology it could be almost instantaneous. Furthermore, the people in charge of the weapons are “severely constrained with spares,” this is because almost all of the companies who made the original parts for the weapons have shut down since they were built in the 1960s (Copp, 2). This is a major problem because it reportedly could take many months to get a replacement part and there is no backup plan in case of an emergency. In addition, Navy Adm. Charles Richard, the head of U.S. Strategic Command worries how long the missiles may last, and he stated the bombs are “certainly past the point of being cost-effective and approaching the point where you can’t do it all”(Copp, 4). This shows that the United States should update its nuclear weapons because they are antiquated and need to be replaced by new nuclear weapons.

Another reason why the United States should have more nuclear weapons is that other countries are increasing their own nuclear arsenal. For instance, the pentagon predicts that by 2030 Beijing could have up to 1000 nuclear warheads (Steven, 4). This is an extremely bad sign for the United States because it means China is increasing its nuclear arsenal by a very large amount that is very excessive. Likewise, Russia currently has a legion of 13,000 warheads which is way more than the United States’ current nuclear arsenal. This means that if the United States went to nuclear war Russia would easily win. To add, the secretary-general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, states, “The world where we get rid of our nuclear weapons but where China, Russia, and countries like North Korea continue to have nuclear weapons is not a safer world” (Chase,2). This means that if the United States removes all of its weapons and other countries use them, the United States can not defend itself, this leaves us as prime target for nuclear attacks. The United States still has nuclear weapons to deter other countries from using theirs, this strategy is called nuclear deterrence.

To summarize, the United States should focus on increasing the strength of its nuclear arsenal due to other countries making more nuclear weapons, and the United States' current nuclear arsenal is impoverished. Some may argue that the United States should try to sign a treaty with other countries to remove all of their nuclear weapons. This has previously been tried but ultimately it did not work.  If the United States does not do anything about increasing the strength of the United States nuclear arsenal it could lead to catastrophic consequences for the entire planet. This is because if other countries such as China or Russia realize that the United States could not defend themselves in a nuclear war they may attack them. It could lead to a much worse ending than Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.  

Works Cited

Copp, Tara. "US Nuclear Weapons Are Aging Quickly." McClatchy Washington DC News
Bureau, 30 Mar 2021. SIRS Issues Researcher,
explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2507331861?accountid=68117.

Chase, Steven. "New Nuclear Arms Race is Upon Us: Expert." Globe and Mail, 30 Nov 2021. 

SIRS Issues Researcher, 

explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2623476128?accountid=68117.