Nuclear security

Naive Nuclear Proposals for a Dangerous World

U.S. nuclear ambiguity compels enemies to consider the possibility that even their massive use of conventional force, or chemical and biological weapons, could lead to a U.S. nuclear response. By raising the potential cost of aggression against the U.S. and its allies, our policy of nuclear ambiguity has helped prevent highly lethal attacks. After the Gulf War, Iraqi Gen. Wafic Al Sammarai, the former head of Iraqi Military Intelligence, said that Saddam Hussein did not use chemical or biological weapons because: “The warning was quite severe and quite effective, the allied troops were certain to use nuclear arms and the price will be too dear and too high.”