Global Nuclear Zero? ?I Don?t See It Happening,? Says NORTHCOM Commander

The world will never rid itself of nuclear weapons, despite progress on the “noble cause” of global disarmament, Adm. William Gortney, commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said during a speech at the State Department yesterday. “The nuclear genie’s there, and until everybody wants to do away with nuclear weapons, we have to be prepared to respond with our nuclear weapons,” Gortney said during the Generation Prague Conference. “I’m pretty fluent on this. The world’s a pretty dangerous place, and we’d all like to put the nuclear genie back into the box, but we can’t, and so I just don’t see that happening.”

 

Gortney compared the probability of “nuclear zero” to him suiting up for a pro sports team. “I think I have a better chance with playing for the National Basketball Association then this whole going to nuclear zero,” he said. Gortney said he thinks disarming is a “noble cause” and said he looks at disarmament pragmatically. “I think it’s a good idea to reduce the numbers, because every one I have, I have to recapitalize,” he said. “So not only is there a good reason to make the world a little bit safer place and reduce the number of nuclear weapons that can be out there for any purpose. We think that’s a good cause, plus it drives our costs down, because it’s a very expensive proposition and they all have to be recapitalized at our core number, so this is a good path to be on.”