Pence Won’t Rule Out Nukes in Space

Says it's up to Trump if space needs nukes

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, of which the United States is a signatory, strictly forbids the positioning of nuclear weapons anywhere in outer space. With the Trump Administration’s rush to militarize space, however, that may be a temporary deal.

Vice President Mike Pence said that the US has flexibility on its military activities in outer space, and refused to rule out the idea that the US would position nuclear weapons there in the future, saying it would “advance the principle that peace comes through strength.”

Pence further said that the question of nuclear weapons is “the president’s determination,” and that while it’s in the interest of every nation to keep nukes out of space for now, at some point this may prove to be an way to show more “strength.”

Pence further insisted that space is a “warfighting domain” for the United States, and that for the time being, the Outer Space Treaty does not strictly get in the way of America’s militarization efforts.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.