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

a buildup of forces in China; <strong>and</strong> a response to a future
ballistic missile defense capability in Europe <strong>and</strong>
worldwide. 13 Another factor is the growing U.S. military-technological
superiority in long-range ballistic
<strong>and</strong> cruise missiles, some of which are armed with
munitions guided from space. Andrei Zagorski in a
recent study came to the conclusion that ”there are
virtually no significant Russian constituencies with a
vested interest in reducing or limiting TNW.” 14
France <strong>and</strong> Great Britain, which are nuclear weapon
states under the NPT, have developed their own
deterrence arsenals. France has 300 strategic warheads
on long-range delivery systems, including airborne
st<strong>and</strong>off weapons which can also be used as tactical
(“prestrategic”) weapons. The French government has
announced a one-third cut in its nuclear arsenal, <strong>and</strong>
has closed its nuclear test site along with its plants for
the production of fissile material for weapons. Great
Britain has 160 operational strategic warheads. The
two Western European nuclear powers each have four
nuclear submarines with seaborne missiles, maintaining
one submarine always at sea.
The Debate in <strong>NATO</strong> Countries on the Removal of
TNWs from Europe.
In his Prague “Global Zero” speech on April 5,
2009, U.S. President Obama declared that America
was committed “to seek the peace <strong>and</strong> security of a
world without nuclear weapons.” He then emphasized
that “thinking in terms of the Cold War must
come to an end.” The debate was triggered by two oped
features written by former U.S. Secretaries of State
George Shultz <strong>and</strong> Henry Kissinger, former Defense
Secretary William J. Perry, <strong>and</strong> former Senator Sam
265