BACKGROUND: The Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is a legislatively-mandated review undertaken by each President that establishes U.S. nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities and force posture for the next five to ten years. In October 2022, President Biden made public the unclassified version of his NPR. Before becoming President, Joe Biden was a leader in nuclear arms control, but now some of his actions and policies are going in the opposite direction. Consider these quotes:
- In 2020 Biden wrote: "... the sole purpose of the U.S. nuclear arsenal should be deterring and, if necessary, retaliating against a nuclear attack." By contrast, Biden's NPR states, “We conducted a thorough review . . . including both No First Use and Sole Purpose policies and concluded that they would lead to “unacceptable risk in light of ... non-nuclear capabilities.” His NPR states that the US could respond with nuclear weapons even to a non-nuclear attack.
- Former President Trump had championed the W76-2 as a small, "more usable", nuclear warhead. In contrast, Joe Biden declared that "I don't think there's any such thing as an ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon." Sadly, shortly after that remark, Biden’s NPR supported that very “more usable” W76-2 nuclear weapon.
On the positive side, Biden's NPR states that the U.S. "will seek opportunities to pursue practical steps to advance the goals of... reduced reliance on nuclear weapons, and, ultimately, a world without nuclear weapons.” We need to encourage him to actually create these opportunities.
ACTION: Contact President Biden. Use the information above to express your surprise and dismay that his NPR is, in several important ways, contrary to his earlier statements. Also, urge him to host a 2023 conference of the nuclear states to prepare the ground for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide. This may not be easy, but it will be harder still once Iran and Saudi Arabia join the nuclear club.
CONTACT: President Biden
- Web: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ (leave a message)
- Tel: 1-202-456-1111 (leave a message)
- Mail: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20500
Please send this email on to family and friends and/or write a letter-to-the-editor on this important issue. It is a good way to educate others and build support for needed policies.
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