The Hill – Cheney and Lodge: Making our defense strategy work for this century
In an op-ed in the Hill ASP’s CEO, BrigGen Stephen Cheney, and Director of Nuclear Security, Terri Lodge, discuss how to strengthen our national security – by facing 21st Century issues – and not the old Cold War framework.
As we fully comprehend the new 21st Century challenges and leave behind the outdated cold war threats, we at the American Security Project believe that the United Statesmust reassess the need for a massive, complex and realistically unusable nuclear arsenal.
That is not to say we should just dismantle every weapon and platform, but rather examine what we need, and what we in fact can do without.
They set out four steps the national security establishment should take:
First, the politics of arms control have proven so insidious that progress in negotiations comes at a snail’s place. We should invest in the nuclear reduction process, so that success has a chance–not only with Russia but with China as well as nuclear weapons states. We need to have tough and verified agreements in place so that we know how many they have, so that we can plan our forces appropriately.
Second, we need to be realistic about the practicality of our nuclear triad. A proposed new strategic bomber fleet could cost $18 billion over the next ten years; the new SSBNX submarine program would cost $ 347 billion over its lifetime. In this day and age, do we really think we will ever drop a nuclear bomb from a fundamentally vulnerable plane? If we face facts, we can actually save money and therefore increase our security.
Third, we have to take a hardnosed look at the reasons why countries choose to develop their own nuclear programs, and work with many other countries to lower proliferation risks. Nuclear programs are expensive and very risky for countries. Countries don’t want these weapons as a show of bravado, though no doubt some part of the reason is pride, but rather as a deterrent to conventional attacks from others.
As such, the reducing and deterring nuclear programs is best achieved by using carrots as well as sticks. Carrots, such as the offer to create cooperative defense systems with economic independent zones is one alternative to sticks. Use of these new kinds of “carrots” will require a change in our thinking in Washington – using all the tools in our national security portfolio—not just the threat of military action.
Fourth, we must still be tough on our adversaries. If these defense and economic systems fail or countries cheat on their obligations, we and our international partners must be swift and tough in response.
Read the full article here.
