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  Study Guide
Back from the Brink:
End the Nuclear Threat Now
Produced December 1, 1999

 
 
 

1. Questions before viewing

a. With the Cold War over, is the world now safer from the threat of nuclear annihilation? Explain.

b. Are countries with the greatest number of nuclear weapons the most militarily secure? Why or why not?

c. Does the use of nuclear weapons carry any special moral concerns not associated with conventional warfare?
 

2. Featured speakers

  • Ms. Amy Lesser, On-line Director, Center for Environmental Citizenship

    The Center for Environmental Citizenship (CEC) is a national non-partisan organization, which was founded by young activists in 1992 to encourage college students to be environmentally conscious citizens. CEC is dedicated to training and organizing a diverse, national network of young voters to protect the environment.

  • Admiral Stansfield Turner, Director, CIA 1977-1981

  • Dr. Bruce Blair, Senior Fellow Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution

    The Brookings Institution conducts research on and analysis of matters of public policy, and offers remedies to public institutions. The Institution was created in 1916.

  • Dr. Arjun Makhijani, President for Energy and Environmental Research

    The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) is dedicated to increasing public involvement in and control over environmental problems through the democratization of science.


3. Questions after viewing

a. What steps can be taken to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons?
 
b. What steps can be taken to reduce the risk of accidental nuclear war?
 
c. Would a unilateral cut of nuclear warheads by the United States enhance or weaken US military security?
 
d. Should the United States re-evaluate its policy of nuclear deterrence?
 
e. Do you think that a policy of nuclear deterrence is morally justifiable?
 

4. Classroom project

The class is divided in groups. Each group is part of a team of specialists preparing a report for the US President on de-alerting nuclear weapons. Prepare a memo summarizing your recommendations as to whether the United States should de-alert weapons currently on hair trigger alert and also separate weapons from their delivery systems. Give reasons in support of your opinion.
 

5. Other activities

Set up a website for your school that stimulates discussion and ideas about lingering nuclear issues in contemporary society.

THREAT ASSESSMENT PROJECT: Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) is an issue of growing national concern that will dominate discussions about national security and nuclear dangers in the years to come. Investigate BMD and prepare a paper (or website) that compares de-alerting initiatives with technological solutions to the dangers of nuclear weapons proliferation and accidental missile attacks on the U.S. Include cost comparisons and discuss the international perceptions of BMD versus other programs that claim to reduce the nuclear threat to the United States.

Set up a peace action committee. See Back from the Brink Activist Guide.
 

6. Further reading

"De-alerting", from Fast Track to Nuclear Zero Weapons, Robert D. Green, Middle Powers Initiative, 1998, Cambridge, MA, pp. 52-54.
 
Accidental Nuclear War - A Post-Cold War Assessment, New England Journal of Medicine, April 1998, pp. 1326-1331.
 

7. Other organizations

Nukefix: Nuclear Weapon Research on the Internet
 
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
 
Federation of American Scientists
 
The Heritage Foundation
 
The Stimson Center
 
Center for Non-Proliferation Studies
 
The Ploughshares Foundation
 

8. Related issues

If you have become interested in these issues, you might have a look at the following issues as well.