In April, the Obama administration released an important nuclear weapons policy document called the “Nuclear Posture Review.” Released just a year and one day after President Obama’s historic speech in Prague, where he articulated a firm commitment to seek a world without nuclear weapons, the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) represents the administration’s first comprehensive outline of the ways in which that commitment will impact U.S. nuclear policy.
The NPR is a welcome attempt to marry idealism and realism — it’s essentially Ronald Reagan’s vision, translated into policies that meet the needs of our post-Cold War, post-9/11 era.
Among the changes the text called for in the 2010 NPR:
- No use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
- Significant reductions of the role of nuclear weapons in the U.S. national security strategy
- Changes in nuclear command structure to help prevent accidental launch-
- A commitment to reduce Cold War-levels of nuclear arsenals
- Firm restrictions on when nuclear weapons can be used
- Elimination of obsolete weapons systems
- Rejection of new nuclear weapons programs
Take some time to learn more about the Nuclear Posture Review — our press release is here — also, we’ve collected a number of articles for you to read below, as well as the full-length text from the Department of Defense, if you’re in the mood to get really in-depth.
Learn More about the Nuclear Posture Review:
- New York Times interviews Pres. Obama on Posture Review, “Obama Limits When U.S. Would Use Nuclear Arms”
- From Wall Street Journal, “U.S. Narrows Role of Nuclear Arms”
- Here’s a great piece from the National Security Network, “A 21st Century Nuclear Posture for 21st Century Threats”
- In case you want to read through the NPR, here’s the full text from DoD: http://bit.ly/d0QCfT
