No First Use: The Next Step for U.S. Nuclear Policy

A persistent theme in U.S. nuclear weapons policy is that the United States has always retained the option to use nuclear weapons first in conflict. The threat of nuclear first use played a key role in NATOs military strategy throughout the Cold War, and even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, successive U.S. administrations have retained implicitly or explicitly the first-use option. Yet, in a speech in Prague on April 5, 2009, President Barack Obama pledged to put an end to Cold War thinking and to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, and urge others to do the same. This commitment, coupled with President Obamas embrace of the vision of a nuclear weapons-free world, appeared to foreshadow important changes in U.S. nuclear policy--especially declaratory policy--in the administrations much-anticipated Nuclear Posture Review NPR. The NPR, however, missed the opportunity to effect meaningful change in U.S. nuclear policy. In reality, the NPRs new declaratory formulation changes little from the past, as the United States can still threaten the first use of nuclear weapons in a variety of circumstances. The NPR declares that the fundamental role of U.S. nuclear weapons is for deterrence that nuclear weapons would be used only in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States or its allies and partners and that the United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states that are party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty NPT and in compliance with their nuclear non-proliferation obligations. However, to contend that the fundamental purpose of U.S. nuclear weapons is deterrence does not mean that this is their only purpose.