U.S. General Rejects Idea of Deep Nuclear Cuts

By Elaine M. Grossman
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — A top U.S. general today rejected the notion of sharply reducing the nuclear stockpile to just 100 or so deployed weapons (see GSN, Oct. 30, 2007).

Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, who as head of U.S. Strategic Command is responsible for the nation’s nuclear targeting plans, told reporters he is comfortable with nearly 6-year-old Moscow Treaty limits that would cap the U.S. and Russian arsenals at between 1,700 and 2,200 deployed warheads each.

“I don’t think there’s much magic about those numbers” associated with the Moscow Treaty, said Chilton, adding that he believes further reductions remain possible.  However, the U.S. nuclear arsenal must be large enough to deter potential adversaries from hostilities and to retain a capability to hit an array of targets around the globe, he said.

Chilton linked the idea of a smaller atomic inventory to making the weapons more reliable.  Echoing arguments the Bush administration has made to modernize the stockpile with a new Reliable Replacement Warhead, he said simpler designs might allow the Defense Department to maintain fewer weapons in reserve as a hedge against a potential discovery that one aging weapon or another would not function as expected (see GSN, Aug. 1, 2007).  The U.S. stockpile of reserve nuclear weapons is estimated at nearly 5,000 warheads.

However, Chilton has said he anticipates nuclear weapons would be around at least through the remainder of this century.  For the time being, deep cuts would be unrealistic, he said.

“You could go out and say, ‘Well, let’s go down to 100,” said Chilton, who became the strategic commander in October.  “Do I feel like I could do my job with 100 today?  I would say no.”

The general’s comments come amid renewed debate over a proposal by a bipartisan group of former high-level U.S. government officials for the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons (see GSN, Feb. 27).

“I am not in favor of unilateral disarmament,” Chilton said today.  “So long as we possess nuclear weapons, it is our responsibility … to make sure that we are ready to use them, because that is the deterrent force that we provide.”

The general said the stockpile is populated with “absolutely powerful and terrible weapons,” and noted he would like to see his children grow up in a nuclear-free world. 

Chilton added, though, “I also want them to grow up free.  And as long as we have other nations out there with nuclear capability … that threaten our freedoms, then I think we need to have a nuclear deterrent force that can do the mission of preserving our freedoms.”

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