With the end of the New Start treaty, we face a potentially catastrophic arms race. It can still be prevented With the end of the New Start treaty, we face a potentially catastrophic arms race. It can still be prevented T he risk of nuclear war is greater now than in decades – and rising . The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists recently set its famous Doomsday Clock closer to midnight , indicating a level of risk equivalent to the 1980s, when US and Soviet nuclear stockpiles were increasing rapidly.