NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A former nuclear launch officer is warning that President Donald Trump’s nuclear weapons strategy is encouraging an arms race that could increase the chances of a catastrophic nuclear war. He argues that the Pentagon should instead adopt a ‘deterrence-only’ approach that phases out land-based missile systems that have served as one leg of the nuclear triad for decades. In a new report released on Tuesday, Global Zero’s Dr. Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch control officer who’s a nuclear security expert at Princeton University, argues that the United States’ nuclear stance is a ‘vestige of the Cold War’ that creates instability with an unnecessarily hefty price tag. His proposal is intended to reshape the Pentagon’s thinking on nuclear weapons by promoting a ‘deterrence-only’ strategy that supplements sweeping cuts to the US nuclear force with additional options involving conventional weapons that he says are better suited to hit specific targets.”
–Zachary Cohen and Sophie Tatum, “Former launch officer warns Trump strategy fuels nuclear arms race,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, September 18, 2018 12:56 pm