U.S. Nuclear Posture Reviews

The United States completed Nuclear Posture Reviews (NPR) in 1994 and 2001. These reports, prepared by the Department of Defense (DOD), set out the framework for U.S. nuclear policy for the next five to ten years. The purpose of the reviews was to determine what role nuclear weapons play in the broader context of U.S. security policy. For both NPRs, the DOD and several appointed commissions assessed nuclear policy in light of the global strategic environment, and provided a collective recommendation to senior DOD staff, the president, and Congress. The NPRs then became a guide for the operation and budget of the nuclear weapons community.

The 1994 Nuclear Posture Review

The United States in the post-Cold War era has sought ways to improve its national security and nuclear deterrent posture. Of primary concern in the 1990s was what to do with the large nuclear forces that remained in the U.S. strategic arsenal. Policy-makers, faced with an uncertain global security environment after the collapse of the Soviet Union, tried to incorporate the Cold War "legacy" nuclear forces into a new geostrategic situation. The culmination of these efforts led to the Nuclear Posture Review in 1994 during the first Clinton administration.

Nuclear Triad. The 1994 NPR, the first of its kind in 15 years, reaffirmed the centrality and legitimacy of strategic deterrence, which is based on the threat of retaliation with nuclear weapons if the United States is attacked by another state with nuclear weapons. It also confirmed the importance of maintaining the existing nuclear triad comprised of bombers, submarines, and land-based ballistic missiles. 

Arms Control. The 1994 NPR also affirmed U.S. commitments to international and bilateral arms control agreements, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (CTR), and START I.  The 1994 NPR emphasized U.S. commitments to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which forbids all testing of nuclear weapons. President Clinton signed the CTBT in 1996, and although this treaty has never been ratified, the United States is still obligated under international law to comply with its terms.

The Hedge Force. The NPR also called for the creation of a hedge force, whereby warheads removed from their delivery platforms (missiles) would be kept in storage. The hedge force was meant to be an insurance policy against the possibility that the positive, emerging relationship with Russia might quickly take a turn for the worse. In that case, it was argued, the United States would be in a better strategic position against Russia if it retained a large portion of its Cold War nuclear arsenal.

Further Reading:

• Federation of American Scientists, 1994 Nuclear Posture Review
• Nautilus Institute, 1994 Nuclear Posture Review
• U.S. Department of Defense, 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review
• Globalsecurity.org, 2001 Nuclear Posture Review [Excerpts]
• Arms Control Today, Hans Kristensen, "The Unruly Hedge: Cold War Thinking at the Crawford Summit"