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CRS-13
"to change any aspect of NATO's nuclear policy - and do notforesee anyfuture
need to do so (emphasis added)."28
Force Structure. Through the late 1990s and into the Bush Administration,
the United States has maintained approximately 1,100 nonstrategic nuclear weapons
in its active stockpile. Unclassified reports indicate that, of this number, fewer than
500 were air-delivered bombs deployed at bases in Europe. The remainder, including
some additional air-delivered bombs and around 320 nuclear-armed sea-launched
cruise missiles, are held in storage areas in the United States.29 After the Clinton
Administration's 1994 Nuclear Posture Review, the United States eliminated its
ability to return nuclear weapons to U.S. surface ships (it had retained this ability
after removing the weapons under the 1991 PNI). It retained, however, its ability to
restore cruise missiles to attack submarines, and it did not recommend any changes
in the number of air-delivered weapons deployed in Europe. The United States has
consolidated its weapons storage sites for nonstrategic nuclear weapons. It reportedly
reduced the number of these facilities "by over 75%" between 1988 and 1994. It
eliminated 2 of its 4 storage sites for sea-launched cruise missiles, retaining only one
facility on each coast of the United States. It also reduced the number of bases in
Europe that store nuclear weapons from over 125 bases in the mid-1980s to 10 bases,
in seven countries, by 2000.30
The Bush Administration did not recommend any changes for U.S. nonstrategic
nuclear weapons after completing its Nuclear Posture Review in 2001. Reports
indicate that it has decided to retain the capability to restore cruise missiles to attack
submarines because of their ability to deploy, in secret, anywhere on the globe in
time of crisis.3' The NPR also did not recommend any changes to the deployment of
nonstrategic nuclear weapons in Europe, leaving decisions about their status to the
members of the NATO alliance. The alliance has reviewed these deployments and
reaffirmed that the weapons remain an important indicator of alliance unity, with the
sharing of information about the weapons and sharing of responsibility for their
basing serving as an important bond among the members of the alliance.
After completing the NPR, the Bush Administration indicated that the United
States will explore the development of new types of nuclear warheads. It has
commissioned a study on the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, which will be a
modification of an existing type of nuclear weapon. This program is designed to
improve the U.S. capability to attack hardened and deeply buried targets. TheAdministration has argued that the United States must improve its capability to attack
these types of targets because many potential adversaries have a significant number
of these facilities, which they could use to protect valued assets such as weapons
stocks and command facilities. The Administration has not identified these weapons
28 "Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation, and Security Between the Russian
Federation and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization," signed at Paris, May 27, 1997.
29 "NRDC Nuclear Notebook: U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2004," Bulletin ofthe Atomic Scientists,
May/June 2004.
30 Joshua Handler, in Alexander and Millar, Tactical Nuclear Weapons, pp. 23.-2531 Ibid.
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Woolf, Amy F. Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons, report, September 9, 2004; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs6104/m1/16/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.