The United States is undergoing a significant update to its nuclear defense strategy. According to reports from The New York Times, President Biden approved changes to the country’s highly classified Nuclear Employment Guidance. These updates come as global dynamics shift, driven by increasing nuclear threats from Russia, China and North Korea.
“This is about preparing for nuclear conflict or the escalation towards it — establishing the doctrine, the procedures, and the options available to the president in response to such a situation,” said Tyler White, director of the National Security Program at the University of Nebraska.
While updating nuclear strategy might seem alarming, White said the move is both logical and timely, especially given the shifting global power structures.
The world is fundamentally changing
Tyler White, director of the National Security Program at the University of Nebraska.
Some of those changes include the unprecedented cooperation between Russia, China, and North Korea — three nuclear-armed nations that haven’t traditionally been aligned.
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The war in Ukraine notably altered global relations, forcing Russia to seek military assistance from China and North Korea to keep its war machine running. At the same time, China ramped up its aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, and started expanding its nuclear arsenal years ago. It’s estimated China possesses around 500 nuclear warheads. The country is on track to double that number by 2030.
“These countries have found reasons to collaborate, even participating in joint military exercises,” White said. “The question now is, how do you deter not just each of these actors individually, but as a group if they coordinate a potential attack?”
The U.S. adapting its nuclear strategy should not come as a surprise to anyone following global events over the past decade. The nation’s entire nuclear deterrence infrastructure is undergoing significant updates.
White noted these updates are part of a broader modernization effort across the U.S. nuclear arsenal, from the introduction of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber to the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and the replacement of Ohio-class submarines.
“So I think there’s a lot of transition going on right now. I think a lot of it is necessary,” White said. “This document is kind of a codification of where we’ve been going.”
The update to U.S. nuclear strategy comes at a critical juncture as global threats continue to rise. It underscores the need for a more flexible and modern approach to nuclear deterrence as the world enters a new and potentially more dangerous phase of international relations.
THE UNITED STATES IS CHANGING ITS PLANS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR AND REACT TO NUCLEAR THREATS. THE NEW YORK TIMES IS REPORTING PRESIDENT BIDEN APPROVED UPDATING THE COUNTRY’S HIGHLY CLASSIFIED NUCLEAR EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE.
Tyler White: This is if there is a nuclear conflict or if we are escalating towards a nuclear conflict; what is sort of the doctrine, and then the procedure that follows the doctrine, or the options that the President gets in terms of responding to the situation.
TYLER WHITE IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA.
White: So I think the thing about this update is it makes a lot of sense, and it shouldn’t be that controversial because the world is fundamentally changing.
CHANGES LIKE A TRIO OF NUCLEAR ARMED NATIONS–RUSSIA, CHINA, AND NORTH KOREA–COOPERATING IN WAYS THEY NEVER REALLY HAVE BEFORE.
WHITE SAYS CHINA AND RUSSIA AREN’T TRADITIONAL ALLIES. NEITHER ARE RUSSIA AND NORTH KOREA.
BUT THEN THE WAR IN UKRAINE HAPPENED, WHICH ULTIMATELY FORCED RUSSIA TO SEEK HELP FROM CHINA AND NORTH KOREA TO KEEP ITS WAR MACHINE GOING.
AT THE SAME TIME, CHINESE AGGRESSION IN THE INDOPACIFIC IS ONLY INCREASING. AS ARE CHINA’S STOCKPILES OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS. RIGHT NOW, CHINA HAS ABOUT 500 NUCLEAR WARHEADS, AND THAT NUMBER COULD DOUBLE BY 2030.
White: These three countries have found reasons to collaborate with one another, and they’ve been doing joint military exercises. And so if you’re a nuclear war planner, or if you’re the President of United States and you sit somewhere inside that National Command Authority you need to start thinking about, well, how do I not just deter each of these actors individually, but how do I deter them as a group if they’re going to coordinate a potential attack?
WHITE SAYS NO ONE PAYING ATTENTION TO WORLD EVENTS OVER THE LAST DECADE SHOULD BE SURPRISED THE US IS ADAPTING ITS NUCLEAR STRATEGY. AFTERALL, THE US IS WELL UNDERWAY ADAPTING PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER PART OF ITS NUCLEAR DETERRENCE INFRASTRUCTURE.
White: I also think it comes at this really important time in which we’re transitioning out a lot of our legacy nuclear forces and we’re moving into a new era with the B-21 and new ICBM and the Ohio replacement and all of those different kinds of things. So I think there’s a lot of transition going on right now. I think a lot of it is necessary. And I think this document, maybe as you say, is kind of a codification of where we’ve been going.
FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON. IF YOU WANT TO HEAR MORE FROM TYLER WHITE ABOUT US NUCLEAR STRATEGY, AS WELL AS WHAT THE US RESPONSE MIGHT BE IF RUSSIA USES NUKES IN UKRAINE, DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR LOG ON TO SAN.COM.
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