Nuclear Weapons after the Cold War: Guidelines for U.S. Policy
Reviewed by Andrew J. Pierre
Nuclear weapons and strategy for their use were a key element of the Soviet-American confrontation. With the meltdown of the Cold War, what should be their role? To answer this question Harvard's Center for Science and International Affairs brought together a group of young strategists, unfettered by past dogma but well-tutored in the discourse of the defense community. What emerged is an excellent and substantial body of fresh thinking about the proper role of nuclear arms, American in particular, in the post-Cold War era. Among the well-analyzed recommendations: U.S. targeting priorities should be shifted from Russian strategic forces and command centers to conventional forces and war-supporting industries, and most if not all nonstrategic nuclear weapons of the United States and the former Soviet Union should be eliminated through arms control agreements.
