As the National Nuclear Security Administration pushes to dramatically accelerate plutonium pit production, it is cutting safety corners, bypassing fiscal oversight, and risking nuclear instability—all to fix a problem that elite scientists say doesn't exist.

As the US nuclear weapons program charges from the gates, the idea of restraint may seem far-fetched. In reality, this apparently unbounded acceleration is a choice rather than a necessity. New pit production is not yet required for the existing US nuclear arsenal, only for its expansion or replacement with new designs.