Global Zero's
alternative nuclear posture review
oct 2018
The End of Nuclear Warfighting:
Moving to a Deterrence-Only Posture
an alternative u.s. nuclear posture review
Bruce G. Blair
with Jessica Sleight and Emma Claire Foley
Abstract
The United States should adopt a deterrence-only policy based on
no first use of nuclear weapons, no counterforce against opposing
nuclear forces in second use, and no hair-trigger response. This policy
requires only a small highly survivable second-strike force and
resilient nuclear command, control, and communications (C3). Five
new strategic submarines (SSBNs) backed by a small reserve fleet of
40 strategic bombers would fully support the policy, which requires
a robust capability to destroy a nuclear aggressor’s key elements of
state control and sources of its power and wealth. All other existing
U.S. nuclear forces, including silo-based missiles (ICBMs), should be
phased out and all other planned U.S. nuclear force programs should
be canceled.
The top priority of the U.S. nuclear modernization program
should be strengthening the vulnerable U.S. C3 system. A larger
menu of de-escalatory conventional options to replace escalatory
nuclear responses is needed. Achieving these force and C3 objectives
would ensure nuclear deterrence vis-a-vis Russia, China, and
North Korea while greatly reducing the volatility of a crisis, the
pressure to initiate a preemptive strike, the risk of launch on false
warning, and the likelihood of rapid escalation to all-out nuclear war.
A deterrence-only policy would also cut the U.S. stockpile of operationally
deployed weapons by two-thirds to 650, put the "nuclear
complex" responsible for nuclear weapons maintenance and production
on a sustainable footing, and advance the goals of nuclear
non-proliferation and phased, verifiable disarmament. The United
States should champion a global treaty to prohibit the first use of
nuclear weapons and devise and implement an action plan detailing
the technical and diplomatic steps needed to achieve a nuclear-free
world.
To read the entire report, click on link below.
| anpr-180915-1736-1.pdf |