The “sole purpose” of U.S. nuclear weapons should be to deter and – if necessary, retaliate against – a nuclear attack. This would mark a significant change in U.S. nuclear policy, eliminating ambiguity that preserves the option to use nuclear weapons first in response to a conventional attack.
OP-ED
Steven Pifer: Nuclear weapons – it’s time for sole purpose
This archive photo shows Russian nuclear submarine, the Yuri Dolgoruky, driving in the water area of the Sevmash factory in the northern city of Arkhangelsk on July 2, 2009.
