I agree with Carson that eliminating nukes will never happen as long as man is what he is( both aggressive and fearful). As to making us “safer”, that is only true if you somehow can also believe that living next to a fireworks factory is a guarantor of safety. But let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that having nukes does indeed keep us safe. Why are we spending $600+ billion a year on the most massive military machine the world has ever known( of which nukes make up a relatively small portion of that spending)? If we had only nukes plus our two vast oceans, who in their right mind would dream of attacking us? The obvious answer is,...nobody. 
So, that is the dilemma. If nukes truly keep us safe, then we don’t need the massive military machine. If nukes don’t keep us safe( think 'fireworks factory' ), then why aren’t we working to at least reduce them down to a bare minimum. Unless the US is simply on a bent for world domination, in which case its actions do make some sense.