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

ise as a vehicle for regulating <strong>and</strong> verifying nuclear
weapon numbers, movement, <strong>and</strong> status as regarding
the <strong>NATO</strong> area of operations.
This brief overview addresses arms control as an
established process of arms regulation; summarizes
major threads <strong>and</strong> issues raised in the chapters of this
Part; <strong>and</strong> suggests an arms control agenda as a way
ahead for addressing U.S. tactical nuclear weapons
(TNWs) in <strong>NATO</strong>.
ARMS CONTROL AS A “WAY” OF ENHANCING
NATIONAL SECURITY
Arms control developed as a practical offshoot
from traditional approaches to disarmament, seeking
regulation, reciprocity, <strong>and</strong> transparency in limiting
numbers <strong>and</strong> capabilities of nuclear systems as opposed
to near-term elimination of those systems. The
international security environment of the Cold War
dictated strategic reliance on nuclear weapons, <strong>and</strong>
neither of the major nuclear powers <strong>and</strong> their associated
alliances could guarantee their security without
that set of nuclear capabilities. Arms control offered
a systematic <strong>and</strong> verifiable process to lower the risks,
costs, <strong>and</strong> consequences of potential conflict within a
cooperative niche in the otherwise contentious East-
West relationship.
Today the foundational situation has changed,
resulting in an end to the intensely adversarial relationships
prevalent during the Cold War, <strong>and</strong> a fundamental
alteration of the alliance structure in Europe.
Today <strong>NATO</strong> st<strong>and</strong>s alone as the sole strategic
security alliance on the continent, <strong>and</strong> Russia is not
denominated as an enemy. In fact, cooperative mechanisms
<strong>and</strong> efforts exist between <strong>NATO</strong> <strong>and</strong> Russia on
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