While America remains preoccupied with the war in Iraq, our nuclear nightmares are fast becoming more realistic. The potential risks are many, including a Middle East with multiple nuclear states, terrorists acquiring a nuclear weapon from insecure stockpiles, and flaws in our own command and control procedures exposed by unauthorized B-52 flights with nuclear bombs. Current policies are not working. We need drastic change, and we need it soon.
A new, comprehensive strategy is needed -- one that takes seriously the mission of preventing a nuclear 9/11, stops states from going nuclear and deters them from conducting a nuclear strike on America or assisting terrorists in acquiring the bomb. We must restore U.S. leadership abroad and build a true bipartisan consensus at home and move step by practical step toward the vision of presidents Kennedy and Reagan: a world free of nuclear weapons.
As the possibility of a nuclear terrorist attack increases, our ability to counter that threat remains anemic. To reduce this risk, we advocate accelerating efforts to secure and eliminate bomb-making nuclear materials worldwide, to detect and interdict illicit shipments of such materials, and to develop nuclear forensic technologies that would enable us to hold states accountable if they knowingly assisted terrorists in acquiring or using nuclear weapons.
The U.S. must mobilize the world to ensure that North Korea follows through on its commitment to dismantle its nuclear facilities and eliminate its nuclear weapons, and to head off an Iranian nuclear weapons capability. A nuclear-armed Iran has the potential to trigger a proliferation chain reaction in the Middle East, and a nuclear-armed North Korea could compel its neighbors to reconsider their nuclear options. To roll back these threats, the international community must be ready to apply increased financial and diplomatic pressure. At the same time, the U.S. should be ready to offer the incentive of normalized relations.
A cohesive nuclear strategy should include:
Lower force levels. For the foreseeable future, the U.S. will have to maintain effective, reliable nuclear forces to deter adversaries and reassure friends, but deterrence and reassurance can be achieved at significantly lower force levels. Moreover, America should develop a range of advanced conventional weapons and operational concepts that would give the president credible and technically suitable options for dealing with threats and would reduce and eventually eliminate any need to resort to nuclear weapons to respond to non-nuclear attacks. Reducing the salience of nuclear weapons would enable us to build global support for the tough actions needed to stop terrorists and hostile regimes from obtaining nuclear weapons.
