U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe
Subtitle: the current environment and prospects for the future
By: Stephen P. Lambert and David A. Miller
Contributors: Miller, David.A.
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 183
Subjects: NUCLEAR WEAPONS; ARMS CONTROL
Description: The United States and NATO are on the verge of major new policy debates regarding nuclear weapons in Europe,      yet increasingly, U.S. and some NATO European policy makers find it difficult to articulate persuasive rationales for      maintaining these weapons in place. The current NATO nuclear posture may not be indefinitely sustainable. Alliance      members should therefore pursue a focased effort to build an informed NATO consensus and to educate the      public-prior to potentially acrimonious policy debates. In this manner, the Alliance will define the filture of its weapons      posture based on its own security requirements, not on reactions to moves made by other actors seeking to capitalize      on the reluctance of many allied officials to address nuclear issues publicly. In addressing these issues, the first part of      this thesis analyzes the principal threats to which U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe are relevant-Russian nuclear      capabilities and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD%as well as perceptions regarding nuclear      weapons issues in major West European countries. The second part develops four scenarios and evaluates their      political and military implications: (1) the nuclear status quo; (2) a unilateral withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from      Europe; (3) the formulation of a Western European Nuclear Identity (WNI); and, (4) an Air-Delivered Nuclear      Forces (ANF regime . Limitation Statement:
Notes: Thesis advisor(s): David S. Yost, Peter Lavoy.

"December 1996."

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs) Naval Postgraduate School, December 1996.

Includes bibliographical references.

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

US Air Force (USAF) authors.

dk/dk cc:9116 5/15/97