Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The fifth round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States has begun at the headquarters of the Sultanate of Oman's mission in Rome.
Turkish public prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel over alleged links to a group accused of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt
Kremlin says no agreements yet on next platform for Russia-Ukraine negotiations
YAF spokesperson: We targeted Lydd Airport, known as Ben-Gurion Airport, with a hypersonic missile
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: Two Israeli airstrikes targeted Wadi al-Aziziya in the Tyre district.
CIA spokesperson says law enforcement responded to a security incident outside CIA headquarters.
Brigadier General Saree: Operation achieved its targeted successfully, forcing millions of Zionists to flee to shelters, and halted air traffic at the airport.
YAF spokesperson: We've executed a military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport in occupied Yafa with ballistic hypersonic missile.
IOF warning forces residents to evacuate and head South in preparation for expansion of aggression.
IOF issues large-scale evacuation orders for residents of 14 areas in northern Gaza.

WSJ: Biden sticks with US policy on nuclear weapons amid pressure from allies

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Wall Street Journal
  • 25 Mar 2022 18:08
  • 2 Shares
5 Min Read

The President has taken a step back from a campaign promise that the purpose of nuclear weapons should be to deter nuclear attacks.

  • x
  • Biden sticks with US policy on Nuclear Weapons amid pressure from allies
    Biden sticks with US policy on nuclear wapons amid pressure from allies. 

US President Joe Biden stepped away from his vow toward a campaign, embracing a longstanding US approach of using a potential nuclear threat in response to conventional and non-nuclear dangers in addition to nuclear ones, US officials stated on Thursday. 

Biden vowed during a 2020 campaign toward a policy in which the purpose of the US nuclear arsenal would focus on deterring an enemy nuclear attack.

The decision made earlier this week under pressure from allies holds that the “fundamental role” of the US nuclear arsenal will be to deter nuclear attacks. However, this leaves the possibility that nuclear weapons could also be used in “extreme circumstances” to deter enemy conventional, biological, chemical, and possibly cyberattacks, said the officials.

After Biden met with his allies in Europe, the decision was made to maintain a unified Western stance against Putin’s operation in Ukraine. A spokeswoman for the President’s National Security Council declined to comment.

Biden’s nuclear policy follows an extensive Nuclear Posture Review, in which administration officials examined US nuclear strategy and programs.

According to US sources, the administration's study is also expected to result in cuts to two nuclear systems that Trump's administration supported. If Congress agrees, the program to create a nuclear sea-launched cruise missile would be canceled, and the B83 thermonuclear bomb would be retired.

The review, on the other hand, favors the massive upgrade of the United States' nuclear triad of land-based missiles, submarine-based missiles, and bombers, which is expected to cost more than a trillion dollars.

During the Cold War, the United States reserved the right to use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional strike to compensate for the Soviet bloc's numerical advantage in conventional troops. After handing up its chemical and biological weapons following arms-control accords, the United States later stated that it would reserve the right to deploy nuclear weapons in certain circumstances to prevent attacks with poison gas and germ weapons.

NATO allies have been particularly concerned about transitioning to a "single-purpose" doctrine, fearing that it may weaken deterrence against Russia in the face of the alliance. 

Nuclear doctrine 

Related News

Asia allies wary as US considers troop shift from South Korea: WSJ

Reuters debunks Trump's 'white genocide' claims in South Africa

In January, the ranking Republican members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama urged Mr. Biden to stick with the US nuclear doctrine, which they said had deterred major wars and the use of nuclear weapons for more than 70 years.

Several Democratic arms-control proponents, on the other hand, pushed Biden to downplay the role of nuclear weapons in the Pentagon's policy and to state unequivocally that the United States would never deploy nuclear weapons first in a battle.

“Allies were concerned that moving too far away from current posture would leave them vulnerable—in theory, or practice—to Russian threats,” said Jon Wolfsthal, who served as the senior arms control and nonproliferation official on President Obama’s National Security Council.

Wolfsthal, who advised Biden as vice president, said it would be unfortunate but not surprising if the president scrapped his "single purpose" approach.

According to some Biden administration insiders, his decision does not affect his long-term goal of reducing the United States' reliance on nuclear weapons and reflects the necessity to unite alliance support in the face of Russian threats and a growing China.

These sources also point out that Biden has supported other arms-control measures, including extending the New START deal, which limits US and Russian long-range missiles, for another five years.

Deterrence; US sole purpose 

During the 2020 campaign, Biden wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine that he believed “the sole purpose of the US nuclear arsenal should be deterring—and, if necessary, retaliating against—a nuclear attack.”

Biden went on to say that if elected president, he would work "to put that philosophy into practice, in consultation with the US military and US allies." Before stepping down as Vice President in 2017, Biden had staked out a similar position.

“Given our non-nuclear capabilities and the nature of today’s threats, it’s hard to envision a plausible scenario in which the first use of nuclear weapons by the United States would be necessary,” Biden said at the time.

His "sole purpose" plan was intended to limit the circumstances under which the United States would consider using nuclear weapons by removing the prospect that they may be used in response to a conventional attack or other non-nuclear threats.

According to foreign diplomats and US officials, Biden's plan to change US doctrine and strategy was met with strong opposition from ally states, who were concerned that it would damage the US and allies' ability to deter a conventional Russian or Chinese military onslaught.

The phrase "fundamental role" used by the Biden administration is reminiscent of the Nuclear Posture Review done by the Obama administration in 2010.

But it differs somewhat from the more specific language in the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, which underscored the role of nuclear weapons to “hedge against an uncertain future.”

  • Nuclear Energy
  • US President Joe Biden
  • President Joe Biden
  • nuclear weapons
  • Nuclear Power
  • Biden's administration
  • Joe Biden
  • United States
  • US policy
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben-Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

  • MENA
  • 18 May 2025
Israeli media: Yemen may push 'Israel' towards ceasefire in Gaza

Israeli media: Yemen may push 'Israel' towards ceasefire in Gaza

  • MENA
  • 17 May 2025
Rachel Accurso criticized for speaking out on Gaza children crisis

Ms. Rachel accused of antisemitism for speaking out for Gaza children

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025
Martyrs, injuries in violent Israeli bombardment of southern Gaza

Israeli operation fails; IOF launch violent strikes on Gaza

  • Politics
  • 19 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Yemenis chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 16, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Operations against 'Israel' yielding tangible results: Ansar Allah

People walk between buildings, Dec. 17, 2024, on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (AP)
Politics

Trump blocks Harvard from enrolling foreign students

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, steps out from his plane as he arrives at Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 25, 2025, a day prior to negotiations with US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff (AP)
Politics

Iran no longer benefits from reviving the 2015 nuclear deal: Araghchi

A Microsoft sign is decorated in celebration of the company's 50th anniversary at Microsoft headquarters, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Wash (AP)
Technology

Microsoft prohibits 'Palestine' in internal messages

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS