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U.S. Defense Department in Final Stages of Developing Nuclear Policy Commission
The U.S. Defense Department has nearly finished plans for a commission responsible for reviewing U.S. nuclear weapons policy, Inside the Pentagon reported yesterday (see GSN, April 5). The “Commission on the Implementation of the New Strategic Posture of the United States” is expected to study Pentagon implementation of the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review. The review produced the New Triad defense strategy, which consists of nuclear and conventional offensive strike systems; active and passive defenses; and a military infrastructure capable of responding to nuclear attacks. The panel’s congressional mandate also calls for it to consider difficulties in using conventional weapons for strategic missions. Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Finn, an Office of the Secretary of Defense spokeswoman, would not comment on when the process would be completed or whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had yet chosen commissioners. Rumsfeld is responsible for appointing the 12 commission members, according to the law. Democrats have criticized that aspect of the mandate, raising concerns that the commission may not address the issues in a bipartisan fashion. “This would be a commission brought to you by the same people who brought you the Nuclear Posture Review, the withdrawal from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty, who attempted to deratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and who (pushed for) the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator,” a Democratic congressional source said in March. “We don’t really have much to learn from them” (Sebastian Sprenger, Inside the Pentagon, June 8).
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