US weighing steep nuclear arms cuts

I imagine that again, this is going to be a huge balancing act no matter who is President. Any president who wanted to raise or lower their nuke arsenal would have to get Congress and the military’s extensive chain of command behond it. Right now the govt and the Pentagon cant seem to come together on what the fundamental purpose of a nuke arsenal even is and how much deterrence should be needed. And they would have to before making major cuts to said arsenal, perhaps it’s one of the few perks of having such an ineffective leadership. Though since it is widely accepted that we are no longer in the Cold War and even the most immiediate threat Iran, might be working to build only a few nukes, it would be difficult for any president to argue that we need an arsenal as gigantic as it is when cutting it to 1/4 of its current size is still more than enough to eliminate human civilization.

It’s not at all an issue of whether or not he would TRY to-that’s been a given. Since Day 1 we knew there wasnt a limit to the bats—t crazy stunts he would try and pull and how Red he would want to try and make America. The question is what he would be ABLE to do. Congress and our military and the Pentagon would have to get behind obama on this-and they’re still trying to come up with a realistic assesment of our nuke arsenal and its purposes.

You have to have enough nukes that the other side can't take out most of your nukes and still have *hundreds* or *thousands* of their own left.

Russia has (say) 4000 warheads, China reliably estimated to have 3000.

If we have 300, what are we going to do?

Especially if the swiss cheese intelligence community since the days of (should have been put to death multiple times for treason, e.g. selling Loral guidance technology to China for ICBMs, allowing foreign nationals to work in classified DoD labs, disseminating the blueprints for the W-88) Clinton, the Russians and Chinese can neutralize our subs (either at sea or sabotage in port).

I've never seen stupidity of this magnitude on FR before, ergo, you are a troll.

IBTZ.

Listen I’m not saying that this is easy. If nothing else, we should be replacing aged warheads with newer, more sophisticated nuclear weaponry to keep our arsenal fresh. However, one thing for which I absolutely cannot stand is the open, bald-faced telegraphing to the world that America is unilaterally disarming. This pig Muslim waste of humanity occupying our White House is deliberately making a spectacle of this effort to make it known to the world that America is in a weakened state.

Do you honestly believe that if the day came for Obama to “push the button” launching ICBMs across the globe at China or Russia or Iran that he would really push that button? I’ll answer for you, “HELL NO!” This manufactured Manchurian president is in the business of tearing America down from the highest perch of freedom down to the lowest tier of third world banana republics. He said it himself that our laws are a hindrance to what he wants to do. He has repeatedly called for unilateral executive privilege to pass law, and the God damned Legislative branch IS LETTING HIM DO IT!

I’m fired up, hoppin’ mad. Obama has destroyed every pillar of greatness in this country, and now he’s setting us up to be destroyed as a world superpower. I’m confident, above 80% of any doubt, that we will not see the elections in November. The other 20% is convinced that elections will be rigged, ballot boxes stuffed, and this Marxist moron will be re-elected through fraud. None of our Senators or Congressmen will do anything against him legally, and the Supreme Court is packed with flap-in-the-breeze world government cultists who won’t decide law based on our Founding documents.

It’s time for a military coup, IMO. If not that, it’s time for States to stand up and say, “Enough is enough. We’re not sitting under a tyrannical Federal government anymore.” Those are my only hope options. After that, God will have to intervene.

I fear any one of these scenarios is coming very soon. Peace is in the past. The din of war drums sounds from a very near horizon.

I've never seen stupidity of this magnitude on FR before, ergo, you are a troll.

I think you unfairly accuse me of being a troll. I never even advocated a reduction of the US nuclear arsenal - let alone a unilateral one. I am actually convinced that I won't happen (the only way would be if Russia and China went along and China wouldn't do that) and agreed fully with dfwgator that it's an Obama ploy.

All I said was that I find the psychological aspect - i.e. what is China going to do as it most likely will interpret this as a sign of weakness - the most interesting. The Reagan administration played a brilliant game combining conservative military thinking (security through strength, balance of power) with a realistic approach (e.g. NATO double track decision) and clever strategy (forcing Russia into spending money it couldn't afford, the USSR was mass-producing nuclear weapons right before it collapsed).

It is highly interesting to see the change between von Neumann's thinking and the advent of modern game theory when it comes to nuclear deterrence. I would find it highly interesting to learn the WHOLE strategic thinking behind these developments, because frankly I don't understand this desire to reduce nukes now (the only reason I can see is electioneering - and that would be despicably stupid - and I don't see why the Pentagon would go along with that).

I realize now that months before a presidental election is probably the wrong time to a have an intellectual discussion for discussion's sake. If a moderator should find this is ZOT-worthy, I would appreciate it if he extended me the courtesy of contacting me directly.

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