nuclear-news

Germany walks fine line on nuclear weapons

DW, William Noah Glucroft, March 24, 2023

Germany is not a nuclear power, but it is part of US nuclear strategy. In light of the war in Ukraine and the undoing of Cold War-era arms control, the country’s balanced approach is coming under more pressure.

……………………………………………… Nuclear balancing act

Germany’s opposition to nuclear weapons competes with the expectation that it supports the security status quo. NATO nuclear sharing — the US-led military alliance’s long-standing policy that permits the stationing of US nuclear weapons on non-US territory — means German warplanes could carry them in the event of nuclear war.

As many as 20 such warheads remain at the Büchel Air Base in western Germany, according to an estimate by the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The think tank, based in Washington, DC, counted some 130 others at the Ramstein Air Base, until they were removed between 2001 and 2005.

The nuclear balancing act adds tension both to German domestic politics as well as to the Euro-Atlantic alliance. Any disagreement, however, has taken a back seat after Russia’s war in Ukraine………………………………………………………………………. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-walks-fine-line-on-nuclear-weapons/a-65109735

March 26, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized