Pentagon Rethinks Nuclear Strategy

Elbridge Colby, head of the Pentagon’s policy office, is drafting a new US nuclear strategy that, according to NBC News, places greater emphasis on the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons in a conflict with China or Russia.

The document remains classified and, according to sources, marks a departure from the US’s long-standing approach to nuclear deterrence. Colby is expected to present the strategy to senior administration officials during a closed-door meeting at US Strategic Command headquarters in Nebraska.

According to a senior Pentagon official, the new strategy is designed to expand the US president’s options for responding to regional conflicts in which American allies come under threat.

Colby has long argued that credible deterrence requires realistic nuclear scenarios that adversaries would view as credible.

However, some US officials warn that the approach could lower the psychological threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and raise concerns about the erosion of traditional deterrence.

(mja)