Just over a month after the US suspending cooperation with the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the Pentagon has issued a statement saying they intend to begin making and testing parts for missiles that would explicitly violate that treaty.
The 1987 INF Treaty forbade the US and Russia from having any
nuclear-capable missiles with a range over 500 km but under 5,500 km.
The US disavowed the treaty in February, claiming a Russian missile
technically violated the INF. This began a six-month process of the US
withdrawing from the treaty outright.
The Pentagon statement confirmed that the US has been researching a
missile that would violate the INF since 2017. They admitted the actions
they are now taking would’ve been “inconsistent with our obligations
under the treaty.”
Indications are that the US is going to make parts and test them for the
rest of the six-month process of withdrawing from the treaty. The
Pentagon says they want development to be reversible just in case the
INF does remain intact. Failing that, the US will be well on its way to
making such missiles.
US to Make Missile Parts Banned by Treaty Trump Suspended
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.
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