FORMER JCS VICE CHAIRMAN BACKS DRASTIC CUTS TO NUCLEAR STOCKPILE

By ExchangeMonitor

A report that will be issued today by Global Zero, and backed by retired Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman Gen. James Cartwright, suggests that the United States could drastically reduce its nuclear stockpile and eliminate one leg of the triad, the New York Times and Associated Press reported. According to news outlets, the Global Zero report will suggest that the nation’s nuclear arsenal could be cut back to 900 warheads, with only 450 actively deployed at one time, and that the entire leg of intercontinental ballistic missiles could be scrapped in favor of more survivable ballistic missile submarines and bombers. Of the 450-warhead active stockpile outlined in the report, 360 warheads would be deployed on submarines and 90 for the bomber fleet, the Times reported. The AP said the report suggested that $100 billion could be saved over the next decade through the cuts.

The Obama Administration is currently evaluating reductions to the nation’s nuclear arsenal beyond the 1,550-warhead cap on strategic deployed nuclear weapons established by the New START Treaty, and reports have suggested the Administration’s study has considered reductions to as few as 300 warheads. “The world has changed, but the current arsenal carries the baggage of the cold war,” Cartwright told the Times. “There is the baggage of significant numbers in reserve. There is the baggage of a nuclear stockpile beyond our needs. What is it we’re really trying to deter? Our current arsenal does not address the threats of the 21st century.”

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