{"id":27260,"date":"2016-08-03T18:18:54","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T18:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2016\/08\/03\/us-air-force-secretary-skeptical-of-no-first-use-nuclear-policy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:13:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:13:25","slug":"us-air-force-secretary-skeptical-of-no-first-use-nuclear-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2016\/08\/03\/us-air-force-secretary-skeptical-of-no-first-use-nuclear-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force Secretary Skeptical of No-First-Use Nuclear Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James would be &#8220;concerned&#8221; if the US implemented\u00a0a formal no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons, at a time when the White House reportedly is considering such a move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking Aug. 3 to Defense News and sister publication Air Force Times, James also said the service is briefing members of Congress that have expressed doubts about the Pentagon&#8217;s nuclear modernization strategy in order to make the case for funding the new Long Range Standoff (LRSO) nuclear cruise missile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past month, reports have emerged that President Barack Obama is considering enacting a no-first-use policy \u2014 in which the US would pledge not to preemptively launch a nuclear\u00a0strike\u00a0against another nation\u00a0\u2014\u00a0before leaving office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As would be expected, the nonproliferation community has cheered the idea, and a group of congressional Democrats recently wrote to Obama urging the adoption of that policy. But those who view nuclear deterrence as key to American security have expressed concerns such a plan would put the US on its heels, especially given recent Russian modernization of its nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked specifically her opinion on a no-first-use policy, James said, &#8220;Personally, I have questions about it. I would be concerned with it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those comments echo remarks from William Cohen, a former defense secretary from\u00a01997-2001\u00a0under President Bill Clinton. Cohen told Defense News July 21 that he doesn&#8217;t support a no-first-use declaration.\u00a0Instead, Cohen said he hopes to see &#8220;a very rigorous diminution in our numbers and much greater cooperation with countries who possess&#8221; nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James added that &#8220;I imagine we will hear more about [Obama&#8217;s nuclear-policy thoughts] in the next few months.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That strategy, at this point, appears to include moving forward with major recapitalization efforts on a number of nuclear programs. Last week, the Air Force offered a request for proposals on both the LRSO and the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) programs, the latter of which would replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That the service went ahead with both those RFPs, James noted, &#8220;speaks for itself&#8221; in terms of how vital the Air Force feels those modernization efforts are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But on the Hill, the nuclear modernization strategy has increasingly come under a microscope from congressional Democrats. In particular, the LRSO, which would replace the service&#8217;s Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) program, has become a target as a potential cut in order to free up money for the coming &#8220;bow wave&#8221; of modernization costs expected to hit the Pentagon in the mid-2020s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leading the charge against LRSO are two powerful Democrats: House Armed Services Ranking Member Adam Smith, Wash.,\u00a0and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-President Dianne Feinstein of California. The latter is particularly notable, as control of the Senate now appears a possibility for the Democratic party following November&#8217;s election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James called the discussions over LRSO the result of a &#8220;reasonable difference of opinion among people who are all trying to do the same thing,&#8221; and said the service is trying to provide information that shows why the LRSO is important going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Our job is ultimately [to provide] the best military advice we can give,&#8221; James said. &#8220;We go over there. We brief. We brief both in unclassified and classified ways that &#8216;This I why we believe the LRSO is needed&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That argument rests on the need for the Air Force to have a &#8220;credible&#8221; deterrent for its bomber fleet, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We&#8217;re going to have our B-21s eventually, but our B-52s we also anticipate keeping for a substantial period of time. And without a standoff capability, those B-52s won&#8217;t be able to do the job in the mid-2020s,&#8221; James said. &#8220;So it&#8217;s directly related to that threat, the Anti-Access\/Area Denial kind of environment. So we go to Congress and we explain this\u00a0as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It really does relate to what is going on around the world. That&#8217;s why we need it. But, again, reasonable people have differing opinions.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:amehta@defensenews.com\">amehta@defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twitter:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/Twitter.com\/AaronMehta\">@AaronMehta<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James would be &#8220;concerned&#8221; if the US implemented a formal no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":59400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[33,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3378],"class_list":["post-27260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FBP573L7QFGNLHAYJQDVQFDW3Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2016\/08\/03\/us-air-force-secretary-skeptical-of-no-first-use-nuclear-policy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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