06 April 2010

Big Change in Nuke Doctrine, With 2d Order Effects...

Another on-the-go mobile post...

The United States will swear off the development of new generations of nuclear weapons and will not use its existing arsenal to attack nonnuclear states that are in compliance with nonproliferation agreements, the Obama administration said Tuesday.
The shift, a consequence of the government's Nuclear Posture Review, reflects the administration's changing view of the role of nuclear weapons in a post-Cold War world struggling to control the spread of potential devastating military technology.
Among other things, the new American stance is meant to provide an incentive for countries to stay within the rules of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a senior administration official said.


Why don't I like this? It invalidates the long-standing US doctrine around chemical weapons. For a long time, US doctrine was that if we were attacked by chemical weapons we would retaliate with nukes. This doctrine removes that option. Start your MOPP4 training again, boys. Combat volleyball in chemical suits, anyone?

By: Brant

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