The Pentagon is Formulating a New Nuclear Weapons Strategy

Reference News Network reported on August 8 According to a report from the British Daily Telegraph website on August 5, the Pentagon is drafting a new nuclear weapons strategy aimed at preparing for potential conflicts with China or Russia, marking a significant shift in U.S. military strategy.

The strategy, overseen by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for Military and Political Affairs Elbridge Colby, will place greater emphasis on shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons during regional conflicts, rather than relying on long-range strategic missiles.

According to NBC News, Colby is expected to visit the U.S. Strategic Command in Nebraska on the 5th. This command is responsible for managing U.S. nuclear forces, and Colby will participate in a closed military event during his visit to discuss the aforementioned plan.

A senior U.S. Defense Department official stated, “We believe we need credible nuclear options.”

The official said that the strategy would not limit President Trump's options but rather “expand his range of choices by providing him with practical and credible options, thereby enhancing deterrence.”

Colby has long advocated for the development of tactical nuclear weapons, which have smaller warheads and shorter ranges, suitable for battlefield use or striking specific military targets rather than entire cities.

He also believes that the current U.S. nuclear strategy lacks credibility because it overly relies on threats involving long-range strategic weapons capable of destroying an adversary's entire nuclear arsenal.

The senior Defense Department official also stated, “If we really want to make ‘extended deterrence’ credible, we must provide the nation’s political leadership with nuclear capabilities that are genuinely usable from a common-sense perspective. Otherwise, our leadership's choices will be limited to extreme options that adversaries find incredible, which is not good for maintaining deterrence.”

This proposed shift has reignited debates about U.S. nuclear policy from the Cold War era: How should the U.S. manage its nuclear arsenal to deter conflicts without increasing the risk of nuclear war?

Critics argue that placing greater emphasis on tactical nuclear weapons may lower the threshold for their use, making them appear more usable in conventional conflicts.

Others warn that this could leave the military unprepared to deploy long-range strategic weapons at the president's discretion.

Since the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, forcing Japan to surrender and bringing an end to World War II, nuclear weapons have not been used in conflict.

Additionally, according to a report from the Russian newspaper Vzglyad on August 6, NBC News announced on the 5th that the Pentagon is formulating a new version of its nuclear strategy, focusing on the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons during regional conflicts. The drafter of this new nuclear strategy, Deputy Secretary of Defense Colby, has drawn on the so-called “escalate to de-escalate” concept, attempting to assure U.S. allies and adversaries that the U.S. will utilize all military capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to protect its allies. However, this approach carries significant risks.

In response to Colby's proposal, there are opposing voices within the U.S. Congress and among experts. Daryl Kimball, head of the Arms Control Association, stated that military simulations over the years have shown that once tactical nuclear weapons are used, conflicts often escalate rapidly into full-scale nuclear disasters.

Konstantin Bogdanov, an expert at the Russian Academy of Sciences, analyzed in an interview that under Colby's vision, the U.S. would use such weapons very limitedly, perhaps only deploying them once, in an effort to avoid crossing the “red line” of strategic stability to prevent a nuclear retaliation from the adversary.

Dmitry Trenin, chairman of the Russian International Affairs Council, warned that if Colby's ideas are implemented in U.S. nuclear strategy, leading to further deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe and Asia, it would severely exacerbate tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as between the U.S. and Russia.

He stated, “The relevant conflicts will no longer be limited to regional levels but will evolve into global conflicts. This strategy will not only fail to secure the safety of allies, but the U.S. itself will face more direct threats.” (Translated by Li Sha and Lu Yijia)