From Testing to Deploying Nuclear Forces The Hard Choices Facing India and Pakistan

Abstract

This issue paper describes the requirements for a nuclear deterrent force in general terms, discusses how the Indian-Pakistani nuclear relationship is affected by China, and then considers the specific decisions that still must be made in India and Pakistan. Our goal is to provide a road map to the directions that India and Pakistan might take with their nuclear deployments. The paper will also make apparent just how far India and Pakistan still have to go and that if they deploy nuclear forces, the period of heightened risk will persist for many years, if not decades. On the positive side, the long road ahead for India and Pakistan allows for opportunities to head off their nuclear deployments. Indeed, it is important for India and Pakistan to recognize that they are much closer to their starting point than to any possible end point (I point out in the conclusions section that there may be no end point) and that they must seriously consider taking no further steps in nuclear weaponization.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA376110

Entities

People

  • Gregory S. Jones

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accidents
  • Aircrafts
  • Ballistic Missile Submarines
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Deterrence
  • Fissile Materials
  • Fission
  • Fission Weapons
  • Fusion Weapons
  • Materials
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Nuclear Bombs
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • South Asia
  • United States

Readers

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies