U.S. Nuclear Declaratory Policy

The Question of Nuclear First Use

David C. Gompert, Ken Watman, Dean A. Wilkening

ResearchPublished 1995

Current American declaratory policy regarding the use of nuclear weapons, formulated during the midst of the Cold War, is now obsolete. While the Soviet threat has receded, the threat posed by the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, frequently to states hostile to the United States, has become quite serious. Deterrence will be a central element in the U.S. strategy for coping with these threats. This raises the question about the circumstances under which the United States would be willing to threaten to use nuclear weapons. In view of these two major developments — the end of the Cold War and the spread of weapons of mass destruction — this report argues for a change in U.S. declaratory policy from one that reserves the right to use nuclear weapons first to one that promises not to use any weapon of mass destruction first.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1995
  • Pages: 34
  • Document Number: MR-596-RC

Citation

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Gompert, David C., Ken Watman, and Dean A. Wilkening, U.S. Nuclear Declaratory Policy: The Question of Nuclear First Use. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1995. https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR596.html.
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