Strategic Command Official: Conventional Weapons Cannot Substitute For Nuclear Weapons

Conventional Arms No Substitute For Nuclear: Strategic Command Official -- Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. Strategic Command official said recently that conventional weapons cannot substitute in any “meaningful” way for nuclear weapons, a view that appears to diverge somewhat from an Obama administration focus on reducing the role of atomic arms in ensuring national security (see GSN, Feb. 16).

“You can’t replace nuclear weapons today with conventional capability,” Greg Weaver, the combatant command’s deputy director for plans and policy, said on Feb. 16 at a symposium just outside of Washington. “They don’t have the same effects on targets, but as a result they don’t have the same effects on people’s decision calculus.”

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My Comment: U.S. nuclear strategy for the past 60+ years has always stressed the difference between conventional and nuclear forces .... and why one should be used over the other. Is U.S. policy about to change .... hmmmm .... if I am reading the above article correctly, some in U.S. Strategic Command are concerned that this is becoming the case.