e nuclear states to export their capabilities to other nations. This policy deals directly with the states, where it groups countries as a whole in order to grant them security. It also focuses on one of the central problems recognized by modern realists, the conditions of peace. Again, the United States lost its window of opportunity to have the non-Russian states ratify the NPT in the same fiasco as the START treaties. So until the United States can get the NPT ratified by the non-Russian Republics, the threat will remain.In another area of economic decline in the Soviet Republics, there emerges the hair-trigger threat. There are two possible solutions in dealing with this threat. One is to deal with the economic causes, and the other is to deal with the military causes. Since the economic causes are going to be explored in depth on the next threat, I will choose to discuss the pending military problems that bring about the hair-trigger situation. In order to remove the hair-trigger threat a process needs to be instituted called de-alerting. De-alerting would move to extend the time needed to prepare nuclear weapons for launch by hours, days, or weeks. Doing so could prevent small conflicts or misunderstandings from falling prey to the nuclear hair trigger and erupting into nuclear war. De-alerting would provide time for cooler heads to prevail. It would work to improve US-Russian relations by reducing tensions; promoting stability; enhancing safety, safeguards, and security; supporting traditional arms control; and saving money. One method of de-alerting is given by Bruce Blair. Blair's proposal has emerged from comprehensive talks with Russian specialists and uses an equitable and symmetrical approach to: drastically restrain the most lethal counterforce weapons, increase transparency- allowing for easy verification, dramatically cut the number of strategic warheads configured for launch on warning, and create a de-al...
