The leak of a Pentagon report on the U.S. nuclear posture has unleashed a storm of controversy. Critics argue that it lowers the threshold at which the United States will use its nuclear weapons. That is not necessarily true. The cornerstone of the U.S. posture continues to be deterrence. The real concern is that the Nuclear Policy Review could undermine key pillars of the nuclear control regime.
The NPR is a periodic review of U.S. nuclear weapons policy that has been mandated by Congress. It is not an administrative initiative designed to radically alter U.S. policy, nor does it provide operational guidance on nuclear targeting or planning. Rather, it is an assessment of the security environment and the contingencies that might require a nuclear response.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld explained that the NPR is part of a broader package, which includes the Quadrennial Defense Review, released last September, that attempts to better prepare the U.S. for security challenges in the post-Cold War world. To that end, it envisions a "new triad" of forces that consists of offensive weapons (both nuclear and nonnuclear), defensive systems and a new infrastructure that allows for the U.S. to develop new capabilities to meet new threats.