Will the Obama Administration Modernize and Test the U.S. Strategic Nuclear Force?
The White House fact sheet includes an anodyne statement that the U.S. is free under the treaty to structure its strategic nuclear force, within the numerical limits, as it sees fit. This would seem to include the freedom to upgrade its strategic nuclear force qualitatively. Upgrading the force, however, will require modernization steps, such as developing new generations of missiles and bombers and the warheads to go with them. Nevertheless, the Obama Administration has been nothing short of adamant that it will not conduct nuclear weapons tests and will press the Senate to consent to the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which the Senate rejected in 1999. 4. How Will the Obama Administration Maintain an Effective Strategic Nuclear Arsenal Following President Obama’s Expected Order to “De-Alert” the Force? The White House fact sheet states that the limits imposed by the treaty are based on rigorous analysis conducted by strategic planners at the Department of Defense.
Related Questions
- How interlinked are issues like Indias strategic relations, defence cooperation, nuclear deal and cooperation in Afghanistan?
- Does anyone think that the Obama administration will use force — much less nuclear force — against Iran?
- How does a Force Dome work? Can a Force Dome absorb any force, even the blast of a nuclear weapon?
