Report of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States: hearing before the Committee on Armed Services

Original publisher: Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 2010. LC Number: KF27 .A7 2009j OCLC Number: (OCoLC)656875446 Subject: Nuclear nonproliferation -- United States. Excerpt: ... 11 Six: We sometimes hear or read the query: Why are we investing in these capabilities which will never be used? This is a fallacy. A deterrent, if it is effective, is in use every day. The purpose in sus-taining these capabilities is to be sufficiently impressive to avoid their ' ' use ' ' in the sense of the actual need to deliver weapons to targets. That is the nature of any deterrent but, particularly so, a nuclear deterrent. It exists to deter major attacks against the United States, its allies, and its interests. Years ago, the role and the details of our nuclear deterrent com-manded sustained and high-level national attention. Regrettably, today, they do so far less than is necessary. Nonetheless, the role of the deterrent remains crucial. Therefore, I thank this committee for its continued attention to these critical matters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. S. Thank you, Dr. Schlesinger. PRATT [ The prepared statement of Dr. Schlesinger can be found in the Appendix on page 43. ] PRATT Mr. S. I will start the questions. Unless there is another member of this panel that would like to have the opportunity to make a statement? Dr. Foster? Let me turn everyone's attention to something that receives too little attention, I think, and that is tactical nuclear weapons. We tend to think and talk about Submarine Launched Ballistic Mis-siles ( SLBMs ), Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles ( ICBMs ) and heavy-lifting systems, but these systems, if our principal concern is nonproliferation, may be a bigger danger to us than the larger sys-tems which are subject to deterrence. In your report, you say ' ' The imbalance of non-strategic nuclear weapons will become more prominent and worrisome as strategic reductions continue and will require new arms control approaches ' ' that are assuring to our all...