Obama Alters US Nuclear Doctrine

The Obama administration has brought change to America's nuclear arms doctrine by restricting the possible use of nuclear weapons. This new approach has the hawks screaming mad and the doves miffed. According to the Myhre Proposition on Foreign Affairs, any policy that upsets ideologues on both ends of the political spectrum is probably sensible. This change, of course, is designed not to alter America's military strategy but to bolster American diplomacy.

The Nuclear Posture Review, as the new policy document is known, states that the US will not use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state that complies with the Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT], even if that state uses chemical or biological weapons against the US. On the right, there is a view that anyone attacking America should be nuked until they glow -- which is probably using a sledge hammer to open an egg. On the left, there is a belief that America should renounce the first use of nuclear weapons, quite why one can't say -- if the use of such weapons is immoral, surely it is immoral as a first-strike or a counter-strike bomb.

So, quickly, how many non-nuclear nation that comply with the NPT plan to attack the US? Zero, none, zilch, nobody, nil. Even mad-hatter states like Belorus have no such intention. Cuba, Venezuela? Hostile, yes, planning to attack? Hardly. Clearly, then, this change has nothing to do with military plots. It has everything to do with diplomacy.

President Obama heads to Prague in a few hours to sign a nuclear weapons treaty with Russian President Medvedev. Next week, Washington will host a big anti-nuke conference. Mr. Obama's is the first truly post-Cold War administration when it comes to nuclear weapons. "The greatest threat to US and global security is no longer a nuclear exchange between nations, but nuclear terrorism by violent extremists and nuclear proliferation to an increasing number of states," Obama said in a statement. "For the first time, preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism is now at the top of America's nuclear agenda."

The change in US nuclear doctrine, therefore, is to put some energy into creating a broad front of nuclear and non-nuclear nations to face down nuclear proliferation and terrorism. Under the new doctrine, Iran and North Korea are still atomic targets. In making this change, the US now has some moral authority to pressure other governments into cooperating in this broad front. It also creates a deterrent for any non-nuclear power thinking about making a bomb.

The Obama administration's ambition to create a nuclear-free world is either naïve or cynical. It will never happen. However, if the world can get rid of 95% of the warheads in existence, the odds on the bad guys getting their hands on one lengthen. And if fewer countries are interested in building The Bomb, the odds grow longer still. Naive or cynical, it could be quite effective in making the world more secure.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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