Forging a Consensus on a Sustainable U.S. Nuclear Posture

Despite significant efforts by the current administration, a consensus on the future U.S. nuclear posture remains elusive. This leaves the next administration—whether a second Obama term or the first of a Republican president—with difficult decisions about new nuclear delivery systems, infrastructure investments, and most important, what strategy to pursue.

The Obama administration released a forward-looking Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), signed a new bilateral arms control treaty with Russia, hosted the first Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, helped achieve a final document at the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, and just last month, attended the second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. Domestically, the administration hoped to unite Democrats and Republicans behind both a new arms control treaty and the investments needed to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons complex and nuclear force. Internationally, it wanted to restore U.S. credibility on nonproliferation issues, while continuing to protect the United States and its allies from nuclear threats.