Defense

Making America’s ICBMs Great Again


With the election of Donald Trump and his Dec. 22 tweet calling for the United States to “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability,” advocates of additional nuclear reductions saw their chances of furthering the disarmament agenda go up in smoke. However, they are now doubling down on efforts to eliminate the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) leg of the triad, arguing that the aging Minuteman III should not be replaced.

Their hopes were pinned to Trump’s defense secretary, James Mattis, who last year offered this testimony on Capitol Hill: “The nuclear stockpile must be tended to and fundamental questions must be asked and answered: We must clearly establish the role of our nuclear weapons: do they serve solely to deter nuclear war? If so we should say so, and the resulting clarity will help to determine the number we need. Is it time to reduce the triad to a diad, removing the land‐based missiles? This would reduce the false alarm danger.” (Emphasis the author’s.)