Dealing With Russian Tactical Nuclear Weapons

Abstract

Historically, nuclear arms control has focused on long-range strategic systems term, although Russia continually tried to include U.S. tactical weapons in such talks as well--a move that the United States always resisted. Only in recent years have the tables turned, with the United States now taking the lead on nuclear initiatives. During the Cold War the Soviet Union demanded that American nuclear weapons stationed in European NATO countries be considered strategic, because they could reach the Russian homeland; once negotiations began, however, the Soviets always conceded the case. Nevertheless, in 1991 and 1992 the presidents of the United States and Russia unilaterally decided to reduce their respective arsenals of NSNW, and in the Helsinki Summit of 1997 they agreed that future strategic nuclear arms control negotiations would include a separate venue for discussions surrounding the nonstrategic weapons of both sides.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA422426

Entities

People

  • Jeffrey A. Larsen
  • Timothy D. Miller

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Fissile Materials
  • International Organizations
  • Market Economy
  • Motivation
  • National Security
  • Negotiations
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Nuclear Warheads
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Strategic Weapons
  • Treaties
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Economics
  • European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security