The Case for U.S. Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century

The Case for U.S. Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century
Author: Brad Roberts
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2015-12-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0804797153

“An excellent contribution to the debate on the future role of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence in American foreign policy.” ―Contemporary Security Policy This book is a counter to the conventional wisdom that the United States can and should do more to reduce both the role of nuclear weapons in its security strategies and the number of weapons in its arsenal. The case against nuclear weapons has been made on many grounds—including historical, political, and moral. But, Brad Roberts argues, it has not so far been informed by the experience of the United States since the Cold War in trying to adapt deterrence to a changed world, and to create the conditions that would allow further significant changes to U.S. nuclear policy and posture. Drawing on the author’s experience in the making and implementation of U.S. policy in the Obama administration, this book examines that real-world experience and finds important lessons for the disarmament enterprise. Central conclusions of the work are that other nuclear-armed states are not prepared to join the United States in making reductions, and that unilateral steps by the United States to disarm further would be harmful to its interests and those of its allies. The book ultimately argues in favor of patience and persistence in the implementation of a balanced approach to nuclear strategy that encompasses political efforts to reduce nuclear dangers along with military efforts to deter them. “Well-researched and carefully argued.” ―Foreign Affairs

Atomic Audit

Atomic Audit
Author: Stephen I. Schwartz
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 750
Release: 2011-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780815722946

Since 1945, the United States has manufactured and deployed more than 70,000 nuclear weapons to deter and if necessary fight a nuclear war. Some observers believe the absence of a third world war confirms that these weapons were a prudent and cost-effective response to the uncertainty and fear surrounding the Soviet Union's military and political ambitions during the cold war. As early as 1950, nuclear weapons were considered relatively inexpensive— providing "a bigger bang for a buck"—and were thoroughly integrated into U.S. forces on that basis. Yet this assumption was never validated. Indeed, for more than fifty years scant attention has been paid to the enormous costs of this effort—more than $5 trillion thus far—and its short and long-term consequences for the nation. Based on four years of extensive research, Atomic Audit is the first book to document the comprehensive costs of U.S. nuclear weapons, assembling for the first time anywhere the actual and estimated expenditures for the program since its creation in 1940. The authors provide a unique perspective on U.S. nuclear policy and nuclear weapons, tracking their development from the Manhattan Project of World War II to the present day and assessing each aspect of the program, including research, development, testing, and production; deployment; command, control, communications, and intelligence; and defensive measures. They also examine the costs of dismantling nuclear weapons, the management and disposal of large quantities of toxic and radioactive wastes left over from their production, compensation for persons harmed by nuclear weapons activities, nuclear secrecy, and the economic implications of nuclear deterrence. Utilizing archival and newly declassified government documents and data, this richly documented book demonstrates how a variety of factors—the open-ended nature of nuclear deterrence, faulty assumptions about the cost-effectiveness of nuclear weapons, regular misrepresentati

US Nuclear Weapons

US Nuclear Weapons
Author: Chuck Hansen
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 232
Release: 1988
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780517567401

Presents the historical and technical data for every warhead built by the United States since 1945

Nuclear Weapons of the United States

Nuclear Weapons of the United States
Author: James N. Gibson
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
Total Pages: 246
Release: 1996
Genre: History
ISBN:

Covers every nuclear delivery system the United States ever deployed, from submarines and their missiles to artillery rounds and mines.

The Future of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

The Future of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
Author: Committee on International Security and Arms Control
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 119
Release: 1997-07-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309518377

The debate about appropriate purposes and policies for U.S. nuclear weapons has been under way since the beginning of the nuclear age. With the end of the Cold War, the debate has entered a new phase, propelled by the post-Cold War transformations of the international political landscape. This volume--based on an exhaustive reexamination of issues addressed in The Future of the U.S.-Soviet Nuclear Relationship (NRC, 1991)--describes the state to which U.S. and Russian nuclear forces and policies have evolved since the Cold War ended. The book evaluates a regime of progressive constraints for future U.S. nuclear weapons policy that includes further reductions in nuclear forces, changes in nuclear operations to preserve deterrence but enhance operational safety, and measures to help prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons. In addition, it examines the conditions and means by which comprehensive nuclear disarmament could become feasible and desirable.

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
Author: George Bunn
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2007-08-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0815713673

A Brookings Institution Press and the Center for International Security and Cooperation publication What role should nuclear weapons play in today's world? How can the United States promote international security while safeguarding its own interests? U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy informs this debate with an analysis of current nuclear weapons policies and strategies, including those for deterring, preventing, or preempting nuclear attack; preventing further proliferation, to nations and terrorists; modifying weapons designs; and revising the U.S. nuclear posture. Presidents Bush and Clinton made major changes in U.S. policy after the Cold War, and George W. Bush's administration made further, more radical changes after 9/11. Leaked portions of 2001's Nuclear Posture Review, for example, described more aggressive possible uses for nuclear weapons. This important volume examines the significance of such changes and suggests a way forward for U.S. policy, emphasizing stronger security of nuclear weapons and materials, international compliance with nonproliferation obligations, attention to the demand side of proliferation, and reduced reliance on nuclear weapons in U.S. foreign policy.

Seeking the Bomb

Seeking the Bomb
Author: Vipin Narang
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2022-01-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0691172625

The first systematic look at the different strategies that states employ in their pursuit of nuclear weapons Much of the work on nuclear proliferation has focused on why states pursue nuclear weapons. The question of how states pursue nuclear weapons has received little attention. Seeking the Bomb is the first book to analyze this topic by examining which strategies of nuclear proliferation are available to aspirants, why aspirants select one strategy over another, and how this matters to international politics. Looking at a wide range of nations, from India and Japan to the Soviet Union and North Korea to Iraq and Iran, Vipin Narang develops an original typology of proliferation strategies—hedging, sprinting, sheltered pursuit, and hiding. Each strategy of proliferation provides different opportunities for the development of nuclear weapons, while at the same time presenting distinct vulnerabilities that can be exploited to prevent states from doing so. Narang delves into the crucial implications these strategies have for nuclear proliferation and international security. Hiders, for example, are especially disruptive since either they successfully attain nuclear weapons, irrevocably altering the global power structure, or they are discovered, potentially triggering serious crises or war, as external powers try to halt or reverse a previously clandestine nuclear weapons program. As the international community confronts the next generation of potential nuclear proliferators, Seeking the Bomb explores how global conflict and stability are shaped by the ruthlessly pragmatic ways states choose strategies of proliferation.

A Technical History of America's Nuclear Weapons

A Technical History of America's Nuclear Weapons
Author: Peter a Goetz
Publisher:
Total Pages: 630
Release: 2020-09-10
Genre:
ISBN:

This is the Second Edition of A Technical History of America's Nuclear Weapons: Volume I - Introduction and Nuclear Developments Through 1960. It is called a technical history because it focuses on nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons (delivery) systems. The people, laboratories, and politicians who championed these weapons have been dealt with by other authors. For the convenience of the Reader, Volume I has an introductory section that places the American nuclear arsenal into its historical context and provides the basic technical background needed to understand the weapon's mechanisms. Included are chapters on weapon design, the military-industrial complex, and stockpile logistics. These are followed by a discussion intended to clearly convey what would have happened if nuclear weapons were ever put to use. The introduction closes with a review of early warning and targeting, nuclear war plans, the deployment of nuclear forces, and the evolution of strategic doctrine during the period of the Cold War. It also includes sections on non-proliferation and the current management of the US Nuclear Stockpile. This story is told in a straightforward easy to understand manner. The use of equations is shunned. Albert Einstein declared that if you can't tell a story without the use of mathematics, you really don't understand your subject matter. The second half of Volume I examines early American nuclear weapons and delivery systems. It combines development histories with engineering descriptions to illustrate the performance characteristics of the weapons and the design challenges that faced their developers. Basic data about weapon operation, delivery systems, and deployments are also included. Like the First Edition, this Second Edition is lavishly illustrated with hundreds of photographs.Volume I: 1) Has about 1,000 selected references, grouped into related categories 2) Uses official Military Characteristic (Parts) Numbers for components where available, a very useful tool for internet searches 3)Provides detailed information on the production of uranium and its enrichment in for use in nuclear weapons 4) Provides detailed information on the recovery of plutonium from spent fuel rods and the casting of plutonium cores 5) Outlines the evolution of nuclear pits: solid, composite, levitated, hollow, boosted, linear and linear boosted. 6) Provides information on explosives and the methods used to compress fissile cores, especially the plastic bonded explosives (PBX) produced at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Kingsport, Tennessee 7) Outlines the development of the batteries and the arming, fuzing, and firing (X-Unit) systems used in various nuclear MARKs and MODs 8) Outlines the internal and external electronic neutron initiation systems used in various nuclear MARKs and MODs 9)Describes boosted warheads, the forerunners to the hydrogen bomb 10) Follows the race to develop hydrogen bombs and investigates the first generation of multi-megaton weapons and their delivery aircraft.

Alliances, Nuclear Weapons and Escalation

Alliances, Nuclear Weapons and Escalation
Author: Stephan Frühling
Publisher: ANU Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2021-12-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1760464910

In an era of great power competition, the role of alliances in managing escalation of conflict has acquired renewed importance. Nuclear weapons remain the ultimate means for deterrence and controlling escalation, and are central to US alliances in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. However, allies themselves need to better prepare for managing escalation in an increasingly challenging geostrategic and technological environment for the US and its allies. While the challenge of great power competition is acute at both ends of Eurasia, adversary threats, geography and the institutional context of US alliances differ. This book brings together leading experts from Europe, Northeast Asia, the United States and Australia to focus on these challenges, identify commonalities and differences across regions, and pinpoint ways to collectively manage nuclear deterrence and potential escalation pathways in America’s 21st century alliances. ‘Nuclear weapons play an important role in deterrence and preventing military conflict between great powers, while also posing an existential threat to humanity. It is vital that we have a nuanced understanding of this important challenge, so that such weapons are never used. This book offers many important perspectives and makes a significant contribution to the overall debate about these powerful weapons.’ — The Hon Julie Bishop, Chancellor, The Australian National University, Former Foreign Minister of Australia ‘This timely book identifies a wide range of challenges US alliances both in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic face as they seek to ensure the value of US extended deterrence, particular the US nuclear umbrella, against China and Russia. This unique collection of chapters written by experts in US allies in both regions presents widely varying security perceptions and priorities. To understand such differences is the key to globally strengthen the US alliance systems, which are a significant advantage Washington enjoys over the two competitors.’ — Yukio Satoh, former President of The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) ‘This is a timely and thoughtful collection of essays that should serve to jumpstart public discussion and debate—the absence of which is widely noted and much bemoaned. Each contributor examines an aspect of the complicated, multifaceted nuclear debate by discussing the range of dilemmas from deterrence to disarmament. The various views set out here are more relevant than ever as Russia, China and the United States flex their nuclear muscles in new and sometimes dangerous ways. This book should be read by anyone interested in the preventing the use of nuclear weapons and understanding complexities of alliances in an increasingly dangerous world.’ — Madelyn Creedon, former Principal Deputy Administrator of the US National Nuclear Security Administration and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs

Command and Control

Command and Control
Author: Eric Schlosser
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 702
Release: 2013-09-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1101638664

The Oscar-shortlisted documentary Command and Control, directed by Robert Kenner, finds its origins in Eric Schlosser's book and continues to explore the little-known history of the management and safety concerns of America's nuclear aresenal. “A devastatingly lucid and detailed new history of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Fascinating.” —Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine “Perilous and gripping . . . Schlosser skillfully weaves together an engrossing account of both the science and the politics of nuclear weapons safety.” —San Francisco Chronicle A myth-shattering exposé of America’s nuclear weapons Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America’s nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of accidents, near misses, extraordinary heroism, and technological breakthroughs, Command and Control explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? That question has never been resolved—and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind. While the harms of global warming increasingly dominate the news, the equally dangerous yet more immediate threat of nuclear weapons has been largely forgotten. Written with the vibrancy of a first-rate thriller, Command and Control interweaves the minute-by-minute story of an accident at a nuclear missile silo in rural Arkansas with a historical narrative that spans more than fifty years. It depicts the urgent effort by American scientists, policy makers, and military officers to ensure that nuclear weapons can’t be stolen, sabotaged, used without permission, or detonated inadvertently. Schlosser also looks at the Cold War from a new perspective, offering history from the ground up, telling the stories of bomber pilots, missile commanders, maintenance crews, and other ordinary servicemen who risked their lives to avert a nuclear holocaust. At the heart of the book lies the struggle, amid the rolling hills and small farms of Damascus, Arkansas, to prevent the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the United States. Drawing on recently declassified documents and interviews with people who designed and routinely handled nuclear weapons, Command and Control takes readers into a terrifying but fascinating world that, until now, has been largely hidden from view. Through the details of a single accident, Schlosser illustrates how an unlikely event can become unavoidable, how small risks can have terrible consequences, and how the most brilliant minds in the nation can only provide us with an illusion of control. Audacious, gripping, and unforgettable, Command and Control is a tour de force of investigative journalism, an eye-opening look at the dangers of America’s nuclear age.