The Atlantic – Eric Auner: The Cold War Is Long Gone, but the Nuclear Threat Is Still Here
This post is part of a 12-part series exploring how the U.S.-Russia relationship has shaped the world since the December 1991 end of the Soviet Union. Read the full series here.
Source: The Atlantic, 20th Dec 2011
Former ASP Policy Analyst Eric Auner is a featured author.
In the two decades since the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the nuclear challenges facing the United States have changed radically. American nuclear strategy has not.
American nuclear forces are largely designed to deter a superpower that no longer exists. Meanwhile, nuclear and missile technology is more widely available than ever to outlier states like Iran and North Korea, and Americans continue to worry about a nuclear weapon winding up in the hands of a terrorist.
The United States has choices to make about its nuclear strategy. In a constrained budget environment, the United States will need to make the investments to combat today’s nuclear threats, rather than the threats of past decades.
This article is available online here.
