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

more prosaic level, the presence of tactical arms scattered
about Europe occasionally generates needless
political problems, as evidenced by Germany’s aboutface
on the issue, at first advocating for the removal
of NSNWs, <strong>and</strong> then insisting they should remain for
the foreseeable future. The Alliance, with the Americans
leading on this issue, needs to make a clearer
distinction between tactical weapons <strong>and</strong> the ability to
engage in tactical strikes, whether in Europe or outside
the <strong>NATO</strong> area. This is particularly important due to
the costs not only to maintain the weapons but also to
procure future aircraft <strong>and</strong> train crews that can employ
theses weapons if directed to do so.
The role of nuclear weapons in Western security
is an equation with multiple variables, each affecting
the other. NSNWs are only a part of that equation. For
nearly 5 decades, however, these weapons were a crucial
link binding Europe’s freedom to the American
promise to wage nuclear war to defend that freedom
as part of a common <strong>and</strong> allied endeavor. It will be
difficult, but not impossible, to find greater clarity on
this one issue. But it is imperative to do so, not only
because of the importance of nuclear weapons themselves,
but because the dilemmas raised by the presence
of tactical nuclear weapons are central to the
question of <strong>NATO</strong>’s future.
510