QDR Embraces Reduced Role for Nukes in U.S. Strategy

The new 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review has leaked out. I just gave it a pretty good read through. Here’s my quick cut analysis on nuclear weapons issues.

The QDR states that “new, tailored, regional deterrence architectures” and “new capabilities” will “make possible a reduced role for nuclear weapons in our national security strategy.” It embraces the concept of minimum deterrence, endorsing the goal of “a safe, secure, and effective nuclear arsenal at the lowest levels consistent with U.S. and allied interests.”

Yet the QDR does not discount the dangers and uncertainties ahead. It states:

Until such time as the Administration’s goal of a world free of nuclear weapons is achieved, nuclear capabilities will be maintained as a core mission for the Department of Defense. We will maintain a safe, secure, and effective nuclear arsenal to deter attack on the United States, and on our allies and partners.

Moreover:

Even as we strive to prevent proliferation, we must take steps to hedge against its possibility. Accordingly, DoD will continue to enhance U.S. capabilities for deterring and preventing the use of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery. In addition, the United States, its allies, and its partners will undertake consultations on policies and postures to prevent proliferation and credibly deter aggression.

The QDR tags the collapse of a WMD-armed state as a major concern for the United States. Such a scenario “could lead to rapid proliferation of WMD material, weapons, and technology, and could quickly become a global crisis posing a direct physical threat to the United States and all other nations,” the report concludes.

There is a big, big role for the nuclear weapons laboratories in the new QDR. In order to prevent WMD terrorism, the QDR calls on the United States to:

Establish a Joint Task Force Elimination Headquarters to plan, train, and execute WMD-elimination operations

Research countermeasures and defense to nontraditional agents

Enhance nuclear forensics

Secure vulnerable nuclear materials

Expand the biological threat reduction program

Develop new verification technologies

The labs will be critical in achieving all of these objectives.