US deterrent ‘too strong’ says former nuclear chief

The former commander of the United States’ nuclear forces has added his voice to those calling for a drastic reduction in the number of nuclear warheads below the levels set by US agreements with Russia.

General James Cartwright, said that the United States’ nuclear deterrence could be guaranteed with a total arsenal of 900 warheads, and with only half of them deployed at any one time. Even those in the field would be taken off hair triggers, requiring 24 to 72 hours for launching, to reduce the chance of accidental war.

That arsenal would be a significant cut from the current agreement to limit Russia and the US to 1,550 deployed warheads each, down from 2,200, within six years. Under the New Start agreement, thousands more warheads can be kept in storage as a back-up force, and the restrictions do not apply to hundreds of short-range nuclear weapons in the American and Russian arsenals.

“The world has changed, but the current arsenal carries the baggage of the cold war,” Gen Cartwright said in an interview. “There is the baggage of significant numbers in reserve. There is the baggage of a nuclear stockpile beyond our needs. What is it we’re really trying to deter? Our current arsenal does not address the threats of the 21st century.”

The proposals are contained in a report issued yesterday by Global Zero, a nuclear policy organisation, signed by General Cartwright and several senior national security figures.

Gen Cartwright was the top officer at the United States Strategic Command, overseeing the entire nuclear arsenal.

The report’s proposals also may help shape the US election-year debate on national security.

President Barack Obama has set a goal of eliminating nuclear weapons, but the specific steps and timetable for this remain aspirational.

Pentagon officials have drawn up options for the president, ranging from an arsenal that remains at New Start levels to one with 300 to 400 warheads. But officials have emphasised that this internal review was still under way and that no decisions had been made.

In March, Republicans criticised Mr Obama after he was overheard telling his Russian counterpart during a nuclear terrorism conference in South Korea that he would have more flexibility to deal with Moscow’s concerns on arms control after the November election.

Among the striking Global Zero proposals is one to eliminate outright the fixed, land-based intercontinental nuclear missiles that form one leg of the US three-part nuclear arsenal, and instead rely solely on submarines, which are nearly impossible to detect, and long-range bombers, which can be summoned back from an attack should a crisis ease.

The proposal calls for 360 warheads deployed aboard submarines and 90 gravity bombs aboard strike aircraft, and calls on Russia also to limit its arsenal to 900 warheads.