US strategic review may eliminate some nuclear weapons

The Boston Globe : US officials are questioning why the US still pursues a foreign policy strategy based on the ability to annihilate Russia.In a thorough review expected to be completed in March, the size, structure, and mission of the US nuclear arsenal are being reconsidered as part of President Obama’s public pledge to reduce the role of nuclear weapons.Obama has already reached a tentative agreement with Russia to reduce the number of strategic nuclear warheads on both sides from about 2200 to between 1500 and 1675 in the next several years, while also slashing number of missiles designed to carry them to between 500 and 1000. The Nuclear Posture Review , led by the US Defense Department, could recommend going even further, to 1000 warheads or fewer.For the first time, influential voices, including a former top nuclear commander and senior Obama advisers, are proposing that one leg of the nuclear arms “triad’'— a $30 billion-a-year enterprise made up of land-, air-, and sea-based weapons—be eliminated.