A truly dependent independent deterrent?
Tad | Jun 08, 2010 |
1 
Trident D-5
During the recent UK election campaign Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg made his opposition to like-for-like Trident replacement plans clear, mainly on the basis of the high costs and record breaking budget deficit. Forming a key element of the newly elected Coalition Government with Conservative David Cameron, Clegg is now in an excellent position to highlight other problems associated with Trident modernization plans before they are irreversibly acted on.
One problem not highlighted in the leadership campaign is the ‘dependence’ of the Trident system on the support of the US. Indeed, having presented Trident modernization in the 2006 White Paper as meeting the requirement of a ‘UK nuclear force [that] remains fully operationally independent’, suggestions that it is anything short of this call into question the very rationale for renewing it on this basis.
Nukes on a Blog, trident, submarines, modernization, d-5 (all tags)
