Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) Research Papers (original) (raw)

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  • Nuclear Weapons, Tactical nuclear weapons, Nuclear Policy, Nuclear Posture Review (NPR)

T here is a quiet revolution underway in U.S. nuclear strategy. It is overshadowed by the global war on terrorism, questions over homeland security, and chaos in the international order. It is revolutionary because it reflects many... more

T here is a quiet revolution underway in U.S. nuclear strategy. It is overshadowed by the global war on terrorism, questions over homeland security, and chaos in the international order. It is revolutionary because it reflects many changes in threats, capabilities, and doctrine that have preoccupied nuclear planners since the 1950s. It also highlights the way the Armed Forces prepare for future conflicts. The vision found in the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is part of a wider endeavor to develop new policies. 1 It embraces the concepts of assurance, dissuasion, deterrence, defense, and denial articulated in the Quadrennial Defense Review in 2001. Both reviews set priorities for formulating defense and foreign policy, developing a strategic relationship with Russia, and countering proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons and long-range ballistic missiles. New Threats, New Opportunities Nuclear policy reflects strategic, political, and technological trends that emerged over the last decade. The collapse of the Soviet Union presented an opportunity to foster a new strategic relationship. The United States concluded that massive nuclear arsenals, which had produced the concept of mutual assured destruction (MAD), arms control agreements, and many views of the Winter 2002-03 / JFQ

• • by James J Wirtz
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  • George W Bush adminstration, IR theory, Nuclear strategy and politics, Ballistic Missile Defence, International Nuclear History