Nuclear Posture Review delayed until mid to late March
The release of the Obama Administration's review of its nuclear strategy will be delayed even further, as government stakeholders continue to debate what options to ultimately present to the President, the Senate Armed Services Committee has confirmed. Ploughshares Fund's experts comment on the delay:
"One reason for the delay is a very heated debate about the mission issue," said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, referring to what's known as the "declaratory policy," the basic message the U.S. sends about when it reserves the right to use nukes. "There are people on both sides of the fence."
"We know ‘first use' and ‘sole purpose' are essentially off the table, but they will make steps toward that direction," said Stephen Young of the Union of Concerned Scientists, "The question is how many steps they will take toward that and whether they will mention that as a goal."
"The delay might actually be helpful," said Ivan Oelrich, vice president of the Strategic Security Program at the Federation of American Scientists. A busy White House can now give the review more senior level attention, which could improve the final outcome, he said.
Foreign Policy
