Strategic Command Chief Urges Quick Nuclear Weapons Modernization

On 5 December in the Washington Post, Walter Pincus reported that the head of U.S. Strategic Command argued for an urgent modernization program for the U.S. nuclear arsenal, especially in light of Chinese and Russian upgrades to their own nuclear warheads and delivery systems.  However, other speakers at the same Nuclear Deterrence Summit held in Washington urged caution in adopting a modernization plan, citing the need for the results of forthcoming studies.

…[Air For Gen. Kevin P.] Chilton said he was concerned that Congress had effectively killed the Bush administration's Reliable Replacement Warhead program, which is designed to provide a modern, safer warhead with no new capabilities before the end of this decade. Expressing concern that the nation's Cold War stockpile is aging, Chilton said that "a reliable [nuclear] inventory supports nonproliferation goals…"…[Rep. Ellen O.] Tauscher, whose California district is the site of one of the nation's leading nuclear weapons labs, became a leader in Congress's effort to eliminate the RRW program. She said the Obama administration should "take the high ground" internationally by developing a comprehensive nuclear weapons policy that includes ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia and modernizing a sharply reduced warhead stockpile... 

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