 |
|
|
Uncovered Nukes: Arms Control and the Challenge of Tactical Nuclear Weapons
Executive Summary
-
Thousands of substrategic, or tactical, nuclear weapons (TNWs) are not
monitored or controlled by any existing treaties or formal agreements, even
though these weapons pose dangers that can be equal to or greater than those
of strategic nuclear weapons.
-
In Russia and the United States-the nations with the largest existing stocks
of these tactical nuclear weapons-lab directors and security advisors are
calling for the development, deployment, and even the use of newer classes
of TNWs.
-
The rise of international terrorism presents a particularly grave and compelling
reason to develop an international regime to monitor, control, and ultimately
eliminate the presence of current and possible future deployment of TNWs.
-
Incentives can be used to foster and strengthen policy options to control
existing tactical nuclear weapons and to prevent the development of new
(or redesigned) low-yield or "bunker buster" tactical nuclear
weapons.
-
By recommending that procedures established and measures taken to safeguard
Russian and U.S. tactical nuclear weapons could eventually be applied multilaterally,
this study evaluates the following options for reducing the risks associated
with current and possible future deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.
-
Build upon the START (Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty) process. The START
framework can serve as a basis to ensure control with adequate verification
and monitoring. As it appears cooperation between the United States and
Russia is improving, particularly in the wake of the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, it would make sense in the context of START III and
current discussions to address TNWs.
-
Go beyond unilateral and bilateral approaches to ensure stability and third-party
participation of other nations. There is a need for mechanisms, such as
the Cooperative Threat Reduction (Nunn-Lugar) initiative, that would enable
the United States, Russia, and partner nations to implement common decisions.
Adding the effective involvement of an official representative from one
or more international organizations to relevant fora, such as NATO's Permanent
Joint Council, would help to assure more stability and accountability, and
provide a sustainable element that could better withstand difficulties in
bilateral relations.
-
Withdraw tactical nuclear weapons from Europe to address longstanding Russian
security concerns, particularly as NATO continues to expand eastward, in
exchange for a pledge from Moscow that it will share data on the status
and location of its TNW arsenal, and download and significantly reduce its
forward deployed tactical nuclear weapons.
-
Proceed with TNW disarmament by category in a step-by-step approach. It
would be worth pursuing a global limit on specific types of weapons, if
done in conjunction with a prohibition on the development and deployment
of all redesigned or new models of tactical nuclear weapons. A simple step
for both the United States and Russia to take would be the prohibition of
deployment or development of new, or redesigned, low-yield or bunker-buster
nuclear weapons.
Use this link to review the full report in PDF format: "Uncovered
Nukes: Arms Control and the Challenge of Tactical Nuclear Weapons."
|
 |
|
 |
