International security

Mutual Respect or Mutual Assured Destruction: Reversing Steps to Nuclear Brink

On passing occasions this year, voters in the United States have continued to dip their toes into nuclear weapons policy questions with a cursory debate. Yet these sporadic glances at the details of nuclear first-strike or often biased perspectives on who should be trusted with the nuclear keys distract from a far more consequential issue.

During this sustained pendulum swing between overly detailed considerations that confuse and catchy catastrophic buzzwords which help to distract, the national conversation has all but forgotten the big picture. Taking a step back to understand the basic realities of the legacy from over a half-century, Russia has always remained the principal focus of US strategic nuclear weapons policy throughout the history of this arsenal.  After most Americans quickly lost interest in weapons of mass destruction at the conclusion of the Soviet era in 1991, a fundamental reality has still lurked in the shadows amid today’s mainstream misperceptions surrounding most things related to Russia. Since the conclusion of World War II, Moscow has continually been perceived as the country’s greatest potential nuclear foe based on yesterday’s stockpiles. While American policymakers and outside experts often view these issues separately, the direct connection between relations with the Russian Government and U.S. nuclear strategy could not be more clear cut.