Washington: The new U.S. nuclear doctrine will be send for review by the Congress within a month, a senior U.S. defense official said.
The document outlines the U.S. policies in the sphere of nuclear deterrent for the next decade and includes an assessment of current and future nuclear threats to the country.
“The Nuclear Posture Review will be a foundational document for this administration… It’s intended to be a practical work plan for the agenda laid out by President Barack Obama,” Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Miller told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.
Miller said that the document was originally scheduled to be released in March, but defense officials took additional time “needed to address the range of issues under consideration in the report.”
U.S. President Barack Obama said last year that as long as a nuclear threat existed, the U.S. would retain its nuclear capability, although it would work to reduce its arsenal. He has also outlined his vision of the future nuclear-free world.
Miller said on Wednesday that the draft nuclear doctrine outlines concrete steps toward the achievement of these goals and lists measures aimed to increase the effectiveness and security of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
“It is essential that the U.S. continues to invest in its nuclear arsenal and infrastructure while pursuing a nuclear-free world. Guaranteeing the safety, security and effectiveness of our stockpile, coupled with broader research and development efforts, will allow us to pursue nuclear reductions without compromising our security,” he said.
Miller also said that the document has been developed with regard to a new strategic arms reduction pact between the United States and Russia, which has been in the works since April last year.
“U.S. and Russian negotiators are now meeting in Geneva to complete an agreement that will reduce operationally deployed strategic nuclear weapons to their lowest levels in decades,” the official said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to coordinate the final details of the replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1), which expired in December last year, during her visit to Moscow on March 18-19.
