Nuke Policy Is More of the Same

The most telling thing about the Nuclear Posture Review, the occasional statement of U.S. doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons updated last week by President Barack Obama, is that it is virtually the same as the Bush administration's doctrine. There is a difference in tone, and a few modest steps in the direction of limited authorization to use nuclear arms. But even those changes have conditions and exceptions.

The new Posture Review says the United States will use nuclear weapons only against states that have nuclear weapons or states that are not in the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or states that are signatories but are defying their obligations. Those parameters could apply to North Korea and Iran and, possibly, Pakistan and Syria.

Almost any kind of attack from those countries could bring a nuclear response, so the notion that the U.S. would endure a biological or chemical attack without even thinking about nuclear retaliation is simply inaccurate.

In addition, the review says the U.S. will not develop new nuclear weapons but will put more resources into nuclear weapons labs, presumably to make sure that older weapons are kept up to snuff.

This is in contrast to the Bush administration, which held out the possibility of commissioning new weapons (but, in fact, did not do so).

This Posture Review also tries to integrate itself into President Obama's stated goal of eventually ridding the world of nuclear weapons, although he has said he doesn't expect it in his lifetime. Presidents across the spectrum have expressed this aspiration, including Ronald Reagan. But things are more complicated now, with "rogue" states such as North Korea and Iran acquiring or seeking nukes.

In a way, things were simpler during the Cold War.

The Posture Review is not directly connected to the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the Russians. But it is mentioned, which underlines that the eventual goal is mutual reduction of warheads. This is balanced by provisions calling for closer conventional military cooperation with various allies.

Ted Carpenter, the Cato Institute's vice president for foreign policy and defense studies, told Freedom Communications that changes in the Nuclear Posture Review under President Obama are "about 95 percent rhetorical." That seems about right.

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