Futter-Williams.Questioning the Holy Nuclear Trinity.pdf (398.26 kB)
Questioning the Holy Trinity: why the US nuclear triad still makes sense
journal contribution
posted on 2015-10-21, 10:54 authored by Andrew J. Futter, Heather W. WilliamsDespite renewed enthusiasm for nuclear disarmament, a contemporary security environment far removed from
that of the Cold War, and increasing budgetary pressures at home, US interests continue to be best served by
retaining a triad of nuclear forces. While options for a reduced force structure may appear to offer short-term
political and economic expediency, in the long run a three-legged deterrent - possibly consisting of less delivery
vehicles, operational warheads and even potentially de-alerted forces - represents the best way to balance the
competing requirements of contemporary and future US nuclear policy. Indeed, it may be that retaining the triad
provides the most realistic method of re-establishing US-Russia strategic stability, and the most credible basis for
advancing the drive for global nuclear reductions, strengthening global nuclear security, and even working
towards nuclear abolition.
History
Citation
Comparative Strategy, 2016, 35 (4), pp. 246-259Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, ARTS AND HUMANITIES/Department of Politics and International RelationsVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)