A Nuclear Posture Review Needed for the Return of Great Power Competition
By Bradley A. Thayer
February 12, 2018
The Nuclear Posture Review released last week is notable for five major reasons. First, it calls for updating each leg of the United States’ strategic triad. Second, it addresses the importance of modernizing the nuclear command and control system and infrastructure. Third, it calls for the development of new strategic systems, including submarine-launched cruise missile and low-yield warheads. Fourth, it calls for tailored deterrence against adversaries and new forms of attack, including a possible nuclear response to a significantly damaging cyber attack. Fifth, and most importantly, the NPR recognizes the world is not as it was. We are witnessing the return of great power politics. This includes intense security competition among the great powers and compels the United States to modernize its nuclear infrastructure and force posture to reflect that reality. Russia and China, great power rivals of the United States, have consistently modernized their nuclear arsenals and infrastructure. The United States has not. We live in a world where China and Russia have more modern nuclear weapons than the United States and place greater weight on those weapons—as military weapons to be used in combat with the United States and its allies, as well as signs of their military prowess.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/02/12/a_nuclear_posture_review_needed_for_the_return_of_great_power_competition_113046.html
