U.S. Nuclear Weapons: Changes in Policy and Force Structure
Abstract
The Bush Administration conducted a review of U.S. nuclear weapons force posture during its first year in office. Although the review sought to adjust the U.S. nuclear posture to address changes in the international security environment at the start of the new century, it continued many of the policies and programs that had been a part of the U.S. nuclear posture during the previous decade and during the Cold War. This report, which will be updated as needed, provides an overview of the U.S. nuclear posture to highlight areas of change and areas of continuity. During the Cold War the United States maintained a "triad" of ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers in a strategic nuclear arsenal of more than 10,000 warheads. During the 1990s, the United States reduced the size of this arsenal to around 7,000 warheads, but maintained all three legs of the triad. The Bush Administration has announced that the United States will further reduce its arsenal to between 1,700 and 2,200 "operationally deployed" warheads, but that it will not eliminate many delivery vehicles while reducing its force, and it will retain many nondeployed warheads in storage as a "responsive force" that could be added to the deployed forces if conditions warranted. The Bush Administration also has announced that it will expand and enhance the infrastructure that supports U.S. nuclear weapons, so that the United States could respond to unexpected changes in the status of its arsenal or the international security environment. Analysts and observers have identified several issues raised by the Administration's Nuclear Posture Review. These include the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. national security policy, how to make the U.S. nuclear deterrent "credible," the relationship between the U.S. nuclear posture and the goal of discouraging nuclear proliferation, plans for strategic nuclear weapons, and the future of non-strategic nuclear weapons.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 23, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA454706
Entities
People
- Amy F. Woolf
Organizations
- Library of Congress