The Us Nuclear Deterrent

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The Case for U.S. Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century

Author : Brad Roberts
Publisher : Stanford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0804797153
Total Pages : 351 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis The Case for U.S. Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century by : Brad Roberts

Download or read book The Case for U.S. Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century written by Brad Roberts and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2015-12-09 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An excellent contribution to the debate on the future role of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence in American foreign policy.” ―Contemporary Security Policy This book is a counter to the conventional wisdom that the United States can and should do more to reduce both the role of nuclear weapons in its security strategies and the number of weapons in its arsenal. The case against nuclear weapons has been made on many grounds—including historical, political, and moral. But, Brad Roberts argues, it has not so far been informed by the experience of the United States since the Cold War in trying to adapt deterrence to a changed world, and to create the conditions that would allow further significant changes to U.S. nuclear policy and posture. Drawing on the author’s experience in the making and implementation of U.S. policy in the Obama administration, this book examines that real-world experience and finds important lessons for the disarmament enterprise. Central conclusions of the work are that other nuclear-armed states are not prepared to join the United States in making reductions, and that unilateral steps by the United States to disarm further would be harmful to its interests and those of its allies. The book ultimately argues in favor of patience and persistence in the implementation of a balanced approach to nuclear strategy that encompasses political efforts to reduce nuclear dangers along with military efforts to deter them. “Well-researched and carefully argued.” ―Foreign Affairs

Asia, the US and Extended Nuclear Deterrence

Author : Andrew O'Neil
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 113669367X
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (366 download)

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Book Synopsis Asia, the US and Extended Nuclear Deterrence by : Andrew O'Neil

Download or read book Asia, the US and Extended Nuclear Deterrence written by Andrew O'Neil and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-02 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the end of the Cold War, significant attention has focussed on the issue of nuclear deterrence and in particular whether formal nuclear security guarantees from nuclear weapons states to non-nuclear weapons states involving the possible use of nuclear weapons have a place in the twenty-first century global strategic landscape. Growing support for nuclear disarmament in the US and elsewhere has seen serious doubts being raised about the ongoing utility of extended nuclear deterrence. This book provides the first detailed analysis of the way in which extended nuclear deterrence operates in contemporary Asia. It addresses the following key questions: What does the role of extended nuclear deterrence in Asia tell us about the broader role of extended nuclear deterrence in the contemporary international system? Is this role likely to change significantly in the years ahead? O’Neil uses a theoretical and historical framework to analyse the contemporary and future dynamics of extended nuclear deterrence in Asia and challenges many of the existing orthodox perspectives on the topic. Providing a new perspective on debates surrounding extended nuclear deterrence, this book will be of interest not only to students and scholars of Asian politics, international relations and security studies, but also to policy makers and professionals.

No Use

Author : Thomas M. Nichols
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN 13 : 0812245660
Total Pages : 232 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (122 download)

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Book Synopsis No Use by : Thomas M. Nichols

Download or read book No Use written by Thomas M. Nichols and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than forty years, the United States has maintained a public commitment to nuclear disarmament, and every president from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama has gradually reduced the size of America's nuclear forces. Yet even now, over two decades after the end of the Cold War, the United States maintains a huge nuclear arsenal on high alert and ready for war. The Americans, like the Russians, the Chinese, and other major nuclear powers, continue to retain a deep faith in the political and military value of nuclear force, and this belief remains enshrined at the center of U.S. defense policy regardless of the radical changes that have taken place in international politics. In No Use, national security scholar Thomas M. Nichols offers a lucid, accessible reexamination of the role of nuclear weapons and their prominence in U.S. security strategy. Nichols explains why strategies built for the Cold War have survived into the twenty-first century, and he illustrates how America's nearly unshakable belief in the utility of nuclear arms has hindered U.S. and international attempts to slow the nuclear programs of volatile regimes in North Korea and Iran. From a solid historical foundation, Nichols makes the compelling argument that to end the danger of worldwide nuclear holocaust, the United States must take the lead in abandoning unrealistic threats of nuclear force and then create a new and more stable approach to deterrence for the twenty-first century.

The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent

Author : United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services. Strategic Forces Subcommittee
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (318 download)

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Book Synopsis The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent by : United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services. Strategic Forces Subcommittee

Download or read book The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services. Strategic Forces Subcommittee and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

China’s Evolving Nuclear Deterrent

Author : Eric Heginbotham
Publisher : Rand Corporation
ISBN 13 : 083309646X
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (33 download)

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Book Synopsis China’s Evolving Nuclear Deterrent by : Eric Heginbotham

Download or read book China’s Evolving Nuclear Deterrent written by Eric Heginbotham and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2017-03-06 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report analyzes international and domestic factors that will affect China's approach to nuclear deterrence, how those drivers may evolve over the next 15 years, and what impact they are likely to have.

Atomic Audit

Author : Stephen I. Schwartz
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
ISBN 13 : 9780815722946
Total Pages : 750 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (229 download)

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Book Synopsis Atomic Audit by : Stephen I. Schwartz

Download or read book Atomic Audit written by Stephen I. Schwartz and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2011-12-01 with total page 750 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1945, the United States has manufactured and deployed more than 70,000 nuclear weapons to deter and if necessary fight a nuclear war. Some observers believe the absence of a third world war confirms that these weapons were a prudent and cost-effective response to the uncertainty and fear surrounding the Soviet Union's military and political ambitions during the cold war. As early as 1950, nuclear weapons were considered relatively inexpensive— providing "a bigger bang for a buck"—and were thoroughly integrated into U.S. forces on that basis. Yet this assumption was never validated. Indeed, for more than fifty years scant attention has been paid to the enormous costs of this effort—more than $5 trillion thus far—and its short and long-term consequences for the nation. Based on four years of extensive research, Atomic Audit is the first book to document the comprehensive costs of U.S. nuclear weapons, assembling for the first time anywhere the actual and estimated expenditures for the program since its creation in 1940. The authors provide a unique perspective on U.S. nuclear policy and nuclear weapons, tracking their development from the Manhattan Project of World War II to the present day and assessing each aspect of the program, including research, development, testing, and production; deployment; command, control, communications, and intelligence; and defensive measures. They also examine the costs of dismantling nuclear weapons, the management and disposal of large quantities of toxic and radioactive wastes left over from their production, compensation for persons harmed by nuclear weapons activities, nuclear secrecy, and the economic implications of nuclear deterrence. Utilizing archival and newly declassified government documents and data, this richly documented book demonstrates how a variety of factors—the open-ended nature of nuclear deterrence, faulty assumptions about the cost-effectiveness of nuclear weapons, regular misrepresentation of and overreaction to the Soviet threat, the desire to maintain nuclear superiority, bureaucratic and often arbitrary decisions, pork barrel politics, and excessive secrecy—all drove the acquisition of an arsenal far larger than what many contemporary civilian and military leaders deemed necessary. Atomic Audit concludes with recommendations for strengthening atomic accountability and fostering greater public understanding of nuclear weapons programs and policies.

EVOLUTION OF THE US SEA-BASED NUCLEAR MISSILE DETERRENT: WARFIGHTING CAPABILITIES

Author : GEORGE J. REFUTO
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
ISBN 13 : 1456881167
Total Pages : 396 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (568 download)

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Book Synopsis EVOLUTION OF THE US SEA-BASED NUCLEAR MISSILE DETERRENT: WARFIGHTING CAPABILITIES by : GEORGE J. REFUTO

Download or read book EVOLUTION OF THE US SEA-BASED NUCLEAR MISSILE DETERRENT: WARFIGHTING CAPABILITIES written by GEORGE J. REFUTO and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2011-08-12 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This historical research study traces and analyzes the technological development and force deployment of US submarine-launched strategic nuclear ballistic missiles, and the evolution of their military missions - during and after the Cold War - from countervalue (civilian, political and economic targets) strategic deterrence to the wider range of strategic and theater-tactical nuclear/conventional military force targeting, characteristic of counterforce or warfighting capabilities. Scope of this study also includes: US nuclear ballistic missile submarine survivability against antisubmarine warfare operations, and the role of the US fleet ballistic missile force in current 21st Century regional and global military threat scenarios, and beyond.

U.S. nuclear policy in the 21st century a fresh look at national strategy and requirements: final report

Author :
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1428981322
Total Pages : 262 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (289 download)

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Book Synopsis U.S. nuclear policy in the 21st century a fresh look at national strategy and requirements: final report by :

Download or read book U.S. nuclear policy in the 21st century a fresh look at national strategy and requirements: final report written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1998 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sweeping changes are occurring in the international system, presenting the United States with both opportunities and challenges. The East-West strategic rivalry that dominated the global security environment for over forty years has been fundamentally and, in a number of critical ways, irreversibly altered. Yet the world continues to be unpredictable and dangerous. Relations with Russia and China have improved dramatically in the last ten years but remain uncertain. Both states continue to emphasize and modernize their nuclear arsenals. In other regions of vital interest to the United States, potential adversaries increasingly have at their disposal advanced conventional and unconventional capabilities, as well as weapons of mass destruction and the means for their delivery. Together, these and other factors, such as the ongoing revolution in military technology, have engendered major adjustments in U.S. national security policy and in the strategy and forces that support U.S. security interests. A series of U.S. government analyses, including the Nuclear Posture Review and the Quadrennial Defense Review, has guided the restructuring of U.S. conventional forces and provided the basis for the late 1997 Presidential Decision Directive on nuclear weapons policy. Further analyses and adjustments will certainly follow. As a contribution to this dynamic process, this report assesses the rationale and requirements for U.S. nuclear weapons, and the infrastructure and people that are critical to their sustainment, in the current and future security environment. By so doing, the report is intended to promote greater understanding of the issues and the measures that will be necessary to sustain deterrence in an uncertain future. The American public and its leadership in both the Executive and Legislative branches must remain informed, involved, and supportive. Absent concerted and continuing high-level attention to the policies and programs supporting its nuclear forces, 7.

Post-Cold War Conflict Deterrence

Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309175100
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Post-Cold War Conflict Deterrence by : National Research Council

Download or read book Post-Cold War Conflict Deterrence written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1997-04-02 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Deterrence as a strategic concept evolved during the Cold War. During that period, deterrence strategy was aimed mainly at preventing aggression against the United States and its close allies by the hostile Communist power centersâ€"the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its allies, Communist China and North Korea. In particular, the strategy was devised to prevent aggression involving nuclear attack by the USSR or China. Since the end of the Cold War, the risk of war among the major powers has subsided to the lowest point in modern history. Still, the changing nature of the threats to American and allied security interests has stimulated a considerable broadening of the deterrence concept. Post-Cold War Conflict Deterrence examines the meaning of deterrence in this new environment and identifies key elements of a post-Cold War deterrence strategy and the critical issues in devising such a strategy. It further examines the significance of these findings for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Quantitative and qualitative measures to support judgments about the potential success or failure of deterrence are identified. Such measures will bear on the suitability of the naval forces to meet the deterrence objectives. The capabilities of U.S. naval forces that especially bear on the deterrence objectives also are examined. Finally, the book examines the utility of models, games, and simulations as decision aids in improving the naval forces' understanding of situations in which deterrence must be used and in improving the potential success of deterrence actions.

Nuclear Weapons of the United States

Author : James N. Gibson
Publisher : Schiffer Military History
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Nuclear Weapons of the United States by : James N. Gibson

Download or read book Nuclear Weapons of the United States written by James N. Gibson and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 1996 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers every nuclear delivery system the United States ever deployed, from submarines and their missiles to artillery rounds and mines.

The End of Overkill

Author : Benjamin Friedman
Publisher : Cato Institute
ISBN 13 : 1939709334
Total Pages : 40 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (397 download)

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Book Synopsis The End of Overkill by : Benjamin Friedman

Download or read book The End of Overkill written by Benjamin Friedman and published by Cato Institute. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. security does not require nearly 1,600 nuclear weapons deployed on a triad of systems—bombers, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs)—to deliver them. A new paper from Benjamin H. Friedman, Christopher A. Preble and Matt Fay encourages abandonment of the triad and skepticism about the received wisdom justifying U.S. nuclear weapons’ policies. The authors suggest that shifting to a submarine-based monad would serve U.S. deterrent needs and eventually save taxpayers roughly $20 billion a year.

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

Author : William James Perry
Publisher : Council on Foreign Relations
ISBN 13 : 0876094205
Total Pages : 149 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (76 download)

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Book Synopsis U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy by : William James Perry

Download or read book U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy written by William James Perry and published by Council on Foreign Relations. This book was released on 2009 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The report notes that in the near term nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security. For this reason it emphasizes the importance of maintaining a safe, secure, and reliable deterrent nuclear force and makes recommendations on this front. The report also offers measures to advance important goals such as preventing nuclear terrorism and bolstering the nuclear nonproliferation regime--Foreword.

U.S. Nuclear Weapons

Author : Amy F. Woolf
Publisher : Nova Novinka
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 86 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis U.S. Nuclear Weapons by : Amy F. Woolf

Download or read book U.S. Nuclear Weapons written by Amy F. Woolf and published by Nova Novinka. This book was released on 2005 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bush Administration conducted a review of US nuclear weapons force posture during its first year in office. Although the review sought to adjust US 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 US nuclear posture during the previous decades and during the Cold War. This book provides an overview of the US nuclear posture to highlight areas of change and areas of continuity. During the Cold War, the United States sought to deter the Soviet Union and its allies from attacking the United States and its allies by convincing the Soviet Union that any level of conflict could escalate into a nuclear exchange and, in that exchange, the United States would plan to destroy the full range of valued targets in the Soviet Union. Other nations were included in US nuclear war plans due to their alliances with the Soviet Union. After the Cold War, the United States maintained a substantial nuclear arsenal to deter potential threats from Russia. It would not forswear the first use of nuclear weapons in conflicts with other nations, armed with chemical or biological weapons, and formed contingency plans for such conflicts. The Bush Administration has emphasised that the United States and Russia are no longer enemies and that the United States will no longer plan or size its nuclear force to deter a 'Russian threat'. Instead, the United States will maintain a nuclear arsenal with the capabilities needed to counter capabilities of any potential adversary, focusing on 'how we will fight' rather than 'who we will fight'. Furthermore, US nuclear weapons will combine with missile defences, conventional weapons, and a responsive infrastructure in seeking to assure US allies, dissuade US adversaries, deter conflict, and defeat adversaries if conflict should occur. Analysts and observers have identified several issues raised by the Administration's Nuclear Posture Review. These include the role of nuclear weapons in US national security policy, how to make the US nuclear deterrent 'credible', the relationship between the US nuclear posture and the goal of discouraging nuclear proliferation, plans for strategic nuclear weapons, and the future of non-strategic nuclear weapons.

The Future of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

Author : Committee on International Security and Arms Control
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309518377
Total Pages : 119 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (95 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy by : Committee on International Security and Arms Control

Download or read book The Future of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy written by Committee on International Security and Arms Control and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1997-07-01 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The debate about appropriate purposes and policies for U.S. nuclear weapons has been under way since the beginning of the nuclear age. With the end of the Cold War, the debate has entered a new phase, propelled by the post-Cold War transformations of the international political landscape. This volume--based on an exhaustive reexamination of issues addressed in The Future of the U.S.-Soviet Nuclear Relationship (NRC, 1991)--describes the state to which U.S. and Russian nuclear forces and policies have evolved since the Cold War ended. The book evaluates a regime of progressive constraints for future U.S. nuclear weapons policy that includes further reductions in nuclear forces, changes in nuclear operations to preserve deterrence but enhance operational safety, and measures to help prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons. In addition, it examines the conditions and means by which comprehensive nuclear disarmament could become feasible and desirable.

Safety and Reliability of the U.S. Nuclear Deterrent

Author : United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Safety and Reliability of the U.S. Nuclear Deterrent by : United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services

Download or read book Safety and Reliability of the U.S. Nuclear Deterrent written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Policy: Do We Have It Right? Assessing American Nuclear Policy Based on Feasibility, Acceptability, and Suitability, Counterpo

Download U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Policy: Do We Have It Right? Assessing American Nuclear Policy Based on Feasibility, Acceptability, and Suitability, Counterpo PDF Online Free

Author : U. S. Military
Publisher : Independently Published
ISBN 13 : 9781795288156
Total Pages : 68 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (881 download)

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Book Synopsis U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Policy: Do We Have It Right? Assessing American Nuclear Policy Based on Feasibility, Acceptability, and Suitability, Counterpo by : U. S. Military

Download or read book U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Policy: Do We Have It Right? Assessing American Nuclear Policy Based on Feasibility, Acceptability, and Suitability, Counterpo written by U. S. Military and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-01-27 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cold War is over and the Soviet Union is gone. Africa, the South Pacific, and Latin America are nuclear weapon free zones. China is a most favored trading partner. The United States and Russia have dismantled hundreds of nuclear weapons and decommissioned scores of bombers and submarines. There is a myriad of international treaties designed to create a world without threat of nuclear holocaust. So why do states and other actors continue to seek nuclear weapons? Iran is in the media with its thinly veiled efforts to establish itself as a nuclear power. On 6 September 2007, Israel bombed a facility in Syria they believed to be a nuclear threat. North Korea is fattening its international bargaining power with its nuclear program. Pakistan, a nation teetering on the edge of political upheaval, has nuclear missiles. Transnational terrorist organizations relish the thought of acquiring an atomic device. Today's nuclear world is not the one our parent's knew. The purpose of this paper is to assess U.S. nuclear deterrence policy to see how it has evolved and if it is appropriate for today's changed security environment.During the Cold War the United States built an immense nuclear arsenal to deter nuclear war with the Soviet Union; a clear and valid raison d'etre. The Cold War is over; has been over for more than 10 years. The Soviet Union is gone. Our Armed Forces got a medal for it. Africa, the South Pacific, Outer Space, and Latin America are nuclear weapons free zones. Today, we have the Limited Test Ban Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, an Outer Space Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), three Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, two Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties, and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty. The convergent thesis of these and other international agreements is a movement to remove nuclear arsenals from the options list of nation-states. The cornerstone of the movement to create a nuclear weapons free world is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The NPT is a universally recognized agreement among 136 nuclear and non-nuclear nations to prevent the expansion of nuclear weapons to non-nuclear states. The days of living under the cloud of "Mutual Assured Destruction" have passed. So what is the purpose of retaining nuclear weapons in this new environment? Why are we investing tax dollars in new nuclear technology and upgrading our weapons stockpile? Where is the peace dividend?

Managing U.S. Nuclear Operations in the 21st Century

Author : Charles Glaser
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
ISBN 13 : 0815739621
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (157 download)

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Book Synopsis Managing U.S. Nuclear Operations in the 21st Century by : Charles Glaser

Download or read book Managing U.S. Nuclear Operations in the 21st Century written by Charles Glaser and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2022-10-04 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring how the United States manages its still-powerful nuclear arsenal Arms control agreements and the end of the Cold War have made the prospect of nuclear war a distant fear for the general public. But the United States and its principal rivals—China and Russia—still maintain sizable arsenals of nuclear weapons, along with the systems for managing them and using them if that terrible day ever comes. Managing U.S. Nuclear Operations in the 21st Century focuses on how theories and policies are put into practice in managing nuclear forces in the United States. It addresses such questions as: What have been the guiding priorities of U.S. nuclear strategy since the end of the Cold War? What nuclear attack options would the president have during a war? How are these war plans developed and reviewed by civilian and military leaders? How would presidential orders be conveyed to the uniformed men and women who are entrusted with U.S. nuclear weapons systems? And are these communications systems and supporting capabilities vulnerable to disruption or attack? The answers to such questions depend on the process by which national strategy for nuclear deterrence, developed by civilian leaders, is converted into nuclear war plans and the entire range of procedures for implementing those plans if necessary. The chapter authors have extensive experience in government, the armed forces, and the analytic community. Drawing on their firsthand knowledge, as well as the public record, they provide unique, authoritative accounts of how the United States manages it nuclear forces today. This book will be of interest to the national security community, particularly younger experts who did not grow up in the nuclear-centric milieu of the Cold War. Any national security analyst, professional, or government staffer seeking to learn more about nuclear modernization policy and the U.S. nuclear arsenal should be interested in this book. It should also be of interest to professors and students who want a deep understanding of U.S. nuclear policy.