As most of the U.S. and several other nations breathe a sigh of relief with President-elect Biden entering office, things are looking up. Already the 46th President is working on regulating COVID cases and named the members of his coronavirus task force. Among his selected advisors is whistleblower Rick Bright who was sidelined by the Trump administration after refusing to support the Trump-endorsed hydroxychloroquine. Meanwhile, the 45th President continues to claim fraud and play golf. No matter – there are only 70 days until this administration ends.
Thankfully, President-elect Biden is already working on executive actions to undo many of 45’s controversial policies. He plans on strengthening multilateralism by having the U.S. rejoin the Paris climate accord and the WHO – information which has been happily received. But will Biden be able to “heal” the current administration’s self-inflicted wounds? As Biden received several warm congratulations from many world-leaders (save a few) Iran, though acknowledging Biden’s win, remained skeptical. The nation’s Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted his disgust about the U.S.’s “ugly face of liberal democracy” and expressed that there is no difference in the outcome of the election. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani insisted that the new administration could, instead, “compensate for past mistakes” and return the U.S. to the Nuclear Deal. With Iran’s Presidential elections coming up in June, will movement occur regarding the nuclear deal? Biden, already with a plate piled high with problems, should pay special attention to nuclear weapons in his first 100 days. He certainly will have the opportunities to do so with the New Start Treaty expiring in early February – but he is already likely to extend the Treaty for another 5 years having already worked on it during the Obama administration. He should take advantage of this healing process and do something neither the Obama nor Trump administration did – join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Though unlikely, it would be incredibly healing and it might encourage the other eight nuclear-strapped nations to consider accepting it. Though projected to win the election and overcome Trump’s baseless claims of fraud – Kim Jong Un’s and Putin’s silence regarding the outcomes speak volumes. If we are to make any drastic change in terms of reducing the risk of nuclear war, now is the time.
Victoria,
My only comment is that the US would have to commit to giving up its nuclear weapons if it were to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It cannot possibly do so unless ALL of the other states possessing nuclear weapons also agree to do so–otherwise, we would lose our capacity to deter a nuclear threat or attack.
–Professor Wallerstein