Defense science board seeks consensus on US nuclear arsenal

Washington Post : Walter Pincus reports that in a recently released declassified version of a report on U.S. nuclear capabilities completed earlier this year, the Defense Science Board reported that its task force on the subject concluded “there is a need for a national consensus on the nature and role of nuclear weapons, as well as a new approach to sustaining a reliable, safe, secure and credible nuclear stockpile."The task force found “most Americans agree that as long as actual or potential adversaries possess or actively seek nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, the United States must maintain a deterrent to counter possible threats and support the nation’s role as a global power and security partner.” Beyond that, however, it found “sharp differences."Hans Kristensen, director of the nuclear information project of the Federation of American Scientists, who first called attention to the science board’s report, described it as an effort to “resell” the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review.