By Bulletin Staff, August 31, 2016
Recent reports suggest that President Obama is considering altering longstanding US nuclear policy by making a “no-first-use” declaration. Is this stabilizing or destabilizing? Does the current policy address current threats, or outdated ones?
We’ve assembled some of our best writing on the subject—some recent, some from the archives. In a world in which every major nuclear state is modernizing its nuclear arsenal, your informed opinion about the US nuclear posture is important.
Rethink oldthink on no first use, by Kingston Reif and Daryl Kimball.
Why Obama should declare a no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons, by Ramesh Thakur
The dangers of no-first-use, by Franklin C. Miller and Keith B. Payne
Declaring a no-first-use policy would be exceedingly risky, by Gordon G. Chang
Related Reading:
What if you don’t trust the president whose finger is over the nuclear button? by Louis René Beres
China’s nuclear submarines: The end of “No First Use”? by Richard Woolgar-James
No nukes? No–no first use, by Sinan Ulgan (Umlaut over the “U”)
Would the United States ever actually use nuclear weapons? by Kingston Reif
WMD no first use in the Middle East: A way to move forward in 2012? by David Friedman, Emily B. Landau, Ephraim Asculai, Tamar Malz-Ginzburg, and Yair Evron
From the John A. Simpson Archive:
Subscription required
No First Use: The way to contain nuclear war in South Asia, by Lawrence J. Korb and Alexander Rothman. March 2012
No first use: having it both ways, by Scott Plous, January 1986
No first use: a history, by Lawrence D. Weiler, February 1983
How No First use can work, by Peter D. Zimmerman and G. Allen Greb, December 1983
No first use: a view from Europe, by Michael Carver, March 1983
No first use: a view from the United States, by Eric C. Ravenal, April 1983
‘No First Use’ needs careful study, by McGeorge Bundy, June/July 1982
Let’s agree—no first use! by Bernard Feld, May 1980
The Bulletin elevates expert voices above the noise. But as an independent, nonprofit media organization, our operations depend on the support of readers like you. Help us continue to deliver quality journalism that holds leaders accountable. Your support of our work at any level is important. In return, we promise our coverage will be understandable, influential, vigilant, solution-oriented, and fair-minded. Together we can make a difference.