New State Dept. report suggests Obama administration is working toward elimination of nuclear weapons

Family Security Matters

A State Department advisory board report  made public Tuesday shows that the Obama administration is studying  cuts in  U.S. strategic arsenals to “very low” levels and ultimately  eliminating nuclear  arms.

The advisory board, headed by former Defense Secretary William Perry,   reflects themes promoted by liberal arms control and disarmament  officials in  the administration and calls for a new U.S. nuclear  doctrine dubbed “mutual  assured stability” based on better relations  with Russia.

The current nuclear doctrine is “mutual assured destruction,” in  which both  the United States and Russia maintain balanced nuclear forces  that threaten the  destruction of cities and nuclear forces to deter a  nuclear war.

According to the report, the board studied “an end state defined by  the  narrower issue of a world with drastically reduced (and ultimately  eliminated)  nuclear arsenals, and associated reductions in security  challenges which could  drive nations to the acquisition and/or use of  nuclear weapons.”

Another concept examined by the board was working to create a future  that is  “a cooperative world of ‘increased transparency and trust’  without ‘adversarial  challenges’ in which [nuclear deterrence] is no  longer necessary.”

The report said that the cooperative world scenario “may be  unrealistic to  achieve in an acceptable timeframe” and focused instead  on how to cut nuclear  arsenals.

The report calls for conciliatory policies toward Russia and dialogue   involving “cooperative security” efforts designed to reduce the risk of  a  nuclear conflict.

It also calls for a review with Russia on missile defenses.

The report identifies “destabilizing” risks associated with deep cuts  in  nuclear weapons. They include the need to increase intelligence and  bolster  defenses against weapons of mass destruction, as well as the  shortcomings of  using conventional weapons as a replacement for nuclear  deterrence.

The report also mentions one potentially destabilizing result of  deploying a  very small nuclear force as “nuclear forces, albeit  progressively smaller in  size, but not adequately sized and maintained,  and with a force structure and  posture not appropriately tailored for  circumstances and uncertainty.” It also  warns that there are risks that  reducing nuclear arms will undermine U.S.  nuclear deterrence provided to  allies in Asia and Europe.

Near-term actions for moving toward mutually assured stability  recommended  in the report include holding talks with Russia on nuclear  stability and  missile defenses.

Russia’s government in recent months has issued threats to conduct   preemptive attacks on U.S. missile defenses in Europe as a result of  plans for  building European defenses.

Moscow for several years has demanded legally binding restrictions on  U.S.  missile defenses, a position rejected so far by the Obama  administration.

The president’s open-microphone promise to Russia’s leader of “more   flexibility” after his presumed reelection has raised concerns among  national  security Republicans about future talks with Russia.

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