Inside the Ring

Nuclear weapons future

The United States favors eliminating all nuclear weapons but will not unilaterally disarm because of the need to deter hostile nuclear powers and others, a senior Energy Department official in charge of nuclear security said Wednesday.

“In his Prague speech [in April], President Obama charted a new course for the United States,” said Thomas P. D’Agostino, head of the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

“Like President Reagan before him, he spoke of a long-term glide slope to zero nuclear weapons,” Mr. D’Agostino said during a conference on nuclear deterrence at the U.S. Strategic Command headquarters near Omaha, Neb. “But he also made clear that, [a]s long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and guarantee that defense to our allies.’ ”

Mr. D’Agostino said two efforts are under way that will impact U.S. strategic nuclear forces. The Pentagon’s Nuclear Posture Review will examine the types of nuclear weapons to be in the arsenal. Second, the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) negotiations with Russia will examine cuts in nuclear forces, he said.

While a new START agreement is important, Mr. D’Agostino also said modernizing the U.S. arsenal and infrastructure is needed.

“As our stockpile gets smaller, it becomes increasingly important that remaining forces are safe, secure and effective, and, to mitigate future technical and geopolitical risks, that our nuclear infrastructure is responsive,” he said.

“My main concern with respect to infrastructure and deterrence … is that we must continue to modernize, advance and exercise our technical capabilities.”

A Pentagon-sponsored panel of experts headed by former Defense Secretary James R. Schlesinger recently uncovered alarming deficiencies in the strategic arsenal, according to a source familiar with its classified findings.

The panel discovered that the “physics packages” - the nuclear explosive module of a warhead - and the electronics of many nuclear warheads made in the 1970s and 1980s are becoming obsolete and need to be modernized to make sure they can be used when needed and to increase security against unauthorized use.

Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said earlier at the conference that strategic deterrence has been neglected for two decades and that the conference was called to examine the issue for 21st-century threat.

“I believe it is vitally important not only for our nation, but also for global security, that we reinvigorate thinking about strategic deterrence,” Gen. Chilton said.

American medals

Congress is set to face off behind the scenes over a provision of the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill that would require the U.S. military to purchase medals and uniform insignia made only in the United States, not abroad.

The “buy America” provision was drawn up by Rep. Mary Fallin, Oklahoma Republican, and passed by the House after several types of medals and insignia were found to be made in whole or part in places such as China, Taiwan, Thailand and India.

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