George Schultz: Nuclear Abolitionist
By Jason Sibert
America lost nuclear abolitionist George Schultz this year.
Schultz passed in February. If one looks at his resume, he seems like a strange person to promote the cause of the abolition of nuclear weapons. Schultz served President Ronald Reagan as secretary of state from 1982 to 1989. He served President Richard Nixon as secretary of labor from 1969 to 1970, as director of office of management and budget from 1970 to 1972, and as secretary of the treasury from 1972 to 1974. Schultz’ predecessor as secretary of state, Alexander Haig, really held more dovish views on foreign policy. The president he served, Ronald Reagan, opposed every arms control deal with Soviet Russia in the years leading up to his presidency. However, he did change once reformer Mikael Gorbachev came to power and entered the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. Many say this change came about because of the influence of Schultz. The INF Treaty paved the way for deep cuts in the U.S. and Russian arsenals in 1991 and 1993.
As pointed out in Michael Krepon’s story “George Schultz: American Statesman and Nuclear Appointment,” no one knows exactly how the former secretary of state turned to his abolitionist views. Some say President Reagan was converted to the cause after the late Cold War arms race kicked off the nuclear freeze movement in the early 1980’s. Even though Reagan’s administration promoted a huge defense buildup and nuclear modernization because he felt modernization had suffered “a decade of neglect,” an idea that was false by anyone who observed history, he seems to have developed a consciousness about the dangers of nuclear weapons in his presidency.
It is known that Schultz wanted to move quickly on downsizing the world’s nuclear arsenal after Gorbachev’s rise to power in 1985. The former diplomat remained active after leaving government service and became a very outspoken advocate of nuclear disarmament in his latter years. He was also vocal in support of the war against climate change.
Schultz, along with former Democratic Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia, former Clinton administration secretary of defense William Perry, and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger all penned works of opinion journalism on the need for nuclear weapons abolition.
Schultz’ life serves as an example of how powerful establishment figures can lend credibility to an idea whose time has come. Movements sometimes begin in the streets, but they become very mainstream when the establishment adapts them as their own.
Jason Sibert is the executive director of the Peace Economy Project
