The Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) insists that “the United States is not turning away from its long-held arms control, non-proliferation, and nuclear security objectives,” even though “we must recognize that the current environment makes further progress toward nuclear arms reductions in the near term extremely challenging.” The NPR further supports “a wide range of activities that comprise a defense-in-depth” against nuclear terrorism, including measures to secure WMD materials, enhance international cooperation, deter state support for terrorism, and strengthen national defenses, preparedness, and resilience.
Some experts believe the Review’s emphasis on having strong U.S. strategic offensive and defensive capabilities will discourage U.S. adversaries from investing in nuclear forces, reassure allies that they do not need their own nuclear deterrents, and impede WMD use by state proxies. Others worry that the NPR’s approach will lead to more nuclear weapons states, alienate the global disarmament community, and increase the volume of dangerous nuclear material.
On February 27, Hudson Institute hosted a panel discussing how best to realize the NPR’s goals of preventing nuclear proliferation and terrorism. Participants were: Hudson Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs; Amb. Bonnie Jenkins of The Brookings Institution; and Simon Limage, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Programs. The panel was moderated by Hudson Senior Fellow Richard Weitz.
Hudson Institute would like to thank the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for supporting our nuclear nonproliferation and security dialogues. Please follow our MacArthur Foundation work here
Please join Hudson Institute for a fireside chat with Senior Fellow and Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs and John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and co-director of the Urban Warfare Project.
Join Hudson Institute and the Ben Franklin Fellowship for a two-panel discussion examining US policy as it confronts the crisis of terror in Nigeria.
Join Hudson Institute's Center for the Economics of the Internet for a keynote address given by Tricia Paoletta on the Trump administration's progress in managing and reallocating the electromagnetic radio frequency spectrum from the federal domain.
Join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth.
