New Report Released on the Status of SORT

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists recently published a report on the status of the Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty (SORT).

The report entitled: "Nuclear Notebook: U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2009", discusses the current status and success of strategic warhead reduction with sections covering ICBMs, submarines and SLBMs, bombers and bomber weapons, nonstrategic nuclear weapons, nuclear warhead production, and warhead dismantlement. The report also includes one table.

The following is taken from the report: "U.S. operational nuclear forces are approaching levels set forth in the agreements that emerged from the 1997 Helsinki summit between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and U.S. President Bill Clinton, which set the framework for the never-finished START III Treaty. Over the past year, we estimate that the United States has removed from operational status more than 1,000 warheads and has reached the upper limit of 2,200 warheads set by the Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty (SORT) (otherwise known as the Moscow Treaty) three and a half years early. SORT promises to reduce Russian and U.S. 'operationally deployed strategic warheads' to no more than 2,200 by 2012."