US nuclear posture
For decades, US defense policy against the Warsaw Pact rested upon the threat of nuclear retaliation in the event of a massive conventional attack against NATO. During the Gulf War, the US did not exclude the use of nuclear weapons if Iraq deployed chemical or biological weapons against US troops. The willingness to use nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances is essential to the credibility of America’s global security policy. Maintaining a nuclear arsenal without planning for the use – however unwelcome – of such weapons defies logic. US flexibility in considering nuclear options is a bitter but critical tool in credibly defending our national and allied interests in this new age of catastrophic terrorism. John Sitilides, Executive Director The Western Policy Center Washington, DC
