nuclear-news

Obama administration considering deep cuts to nuclear weapons deployed

US weighing steep nuclear arms cuts (AP)  WASHINGTON , CBS News, Robert Burns, February 14, 2012— The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 percent in the number of deployed weapons, The Associated Press has learned.

Even the most modest option now under consideration would be an historic and politically bold disarmament step in a presidential election year, although the plan is in line with President Barack Obama’s 2009 pledge to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons.

No final decision has been made, but the administration is considering
at least three options for lower total numbers of deployed strategic
nuclear weapons cutting to around 1,000 to 1,100, 700 to 800, or 300
to 400, according to a former government official and a congressional
staffer. Both spoke on condition of anonymity in order to reveal
internal administration deliberations.

The potential cuts would be from a current treaty limit of 1,550
deployed strategic warheads. A level of 300 deployed strategic nuclear
weapons would take the U.S. back to levels not seen since 1950 when
the nation was ramping up production in an arms race with the Soviet
Union. The U.S. numbers peaked at above 12,000 in the late 1980s and
first dropped below 5,000 in 2003.

Obama has often cited his desire to seek lower levels of nuclear
weapons, but specific options for a further round of cuts had been
kept under wraps until the AP learned of the three options now on the
table………

A spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, Tommy
Vietor, said Tuesday that the options developed by the Pentagon have
not yet been presented to Obama….. Nuclear stockpile numbers are
closely guarded secrets in most states that possess them, but private
nuclear policy experts say no countries other than the U.S. and Russia
are thought to have more than 300. The Federation of American
Scientists estimates that France has about 300, China about 240,
Britain about 225, and Israel, India and Pakistan roughly 100 each.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501706_162-57377677/us-weighing-steep-nuclear-arms-cuts/

February 15, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war