(PatriotWise.com)- The Biden administration’s rumored intentions to scale back the country’s nonpartisan nuclear modernization efforts are getting enough traction in Washington, D.C., that Republicans in Congress are sounding the alarm.
According to initial reports, President Joe Biden wants to return to the stance advocated by previous President Barack Obama and his 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, which sought to minimize nuclear weapons’ role in the US military’s strategic vision.
The study conducted under Obama’s presidency, with Biden as vice president, viewed the US nuclear arsenal as a provocation, neglected to address Russia’s or China’s nuclear ambitions, and assumed that both states could be deterred by stating American intentions.
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), ranking members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committee, responded to President Joe Biden’s forthcoming nuclear policy.
The senators believe that if reports are accurate, President Biden’s decision to slash important nuclear modernization initiatives in the United States illustrates this administration’s incapacity to accept the grim reality of the strategic challenges that the US and its allies face. Amid Europe’s biggest security crisis in decades, this policy projects weakness.
Inhofe and Rogers expressed concern that the President appears to have decided on a unilateral disarmament strategy. If these claims are accurate, the President’s decision to destroy essential capabilities goes against our uniformed military leadership’s best military advice and does nothing to boost our security. It simply confirms international perceptions that the US is hesitant to compete seriously with China or Russia.
They also feel that while President Biden appears to have resisted anti-nuclear fanatics’ worst instincts by rejecting ‘No First Use’ and ‘Sole Purpose’ pronouncements, this new strategy looks to be little more than a rehash of the Obama administration’s approach.
The senators point out that things are substantially worse today than they were before. Every government official who has testified to Congress about nuclear hazards in the last year has emphasized the dangers we face from adversaries worldwide. We’ve seen real-world instances of these escalating risks. These dangers must not be overlooked.
It is the goal, but the road to a nuclear-free world has gotten more complex. Now, more than ever, it is not the time to naively weaken America while powerful adversaries are rattling their sabers.
