Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

CHAPTER 10
THE ROLE AND PLACE OF TACTICAL
NUCLEAR WEAPONS—A <strong>NATO</strong> PERSPECTIVE
INTRODUCTION
Simon Lunn
<strong>Nuclear</strong> weapons have always occupied a special
place in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (<strong>NATO</strong>)
affairs as the ultimate deterrent to aggression <strong>and</strong> also
the symbol of the U.S. commitment to the defense of
its <strong>NATO</strong> allies. Finding the right mix of capabilities
to prove this commitment has been a major challenge
for U.S. <strong>and</strong> <strong>NATO</strong> policymakers; <strong>and</strong> the question
of whether or not to deploy U.S. nuclear warheads
in Europe has provided a perennial source of debate.
The initial deployment in Europe of short-range tactical
nuclear weapons (TNWs) 1 had a clear operational
purpose, although their value was rapidly diminished
by the evident consequences of their use on the home
territory. Despite these problems, they remained in
substantial numbers as part of <strong>NATO</strong>’s strategy of
flexible response until the end of the Cold War. With
the end the Cold War, <strong>NATO</strong> substantially reduced
the number <strong>and</strong> types of TNWs in Europe, leaving a
few hundred warheads for the use of allies on dualcapable
aircraft (DCA). The operational application
of these systems gradually faded from view, <strong>and</strong> they
assumed a primarily political function in terms of ensuring
linkage <strong>and</strong> the participation of the Allies in
<strong>NATO</strong>’s nuclear affairs.
Attention was again drawn to <strong>NATO</strong>’s nuclear
posture by the decision to develop a new <strong>NATO</strong> Stra-
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