Dr. Janne Nolan, professor of International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Jeffrey Lewis,
New America Foundation, will join us for a discussion on the Nuclear
Posture Review. In 2009, the United States will undertake another
congressionally-mandated Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) to reevaluate the
role of nuclear weapons in U.S. national security strategy. Previous
reviews completed in 1994 and 2001 involved the Department of Defense
and several appointed commissions, whose collective report became a
guide for the budget and operation of the nuclear weapons
community. The review includes policy, doctrine, force structure,
operations, safety and security and arms control. The intent is to
match the design of strategic forces with policy, but this can often be
undermined by operational realties. Given this tension, is a wholesale
review of U.S. nuclear policy even possible? What is the likely
outcome of the NPR in 2009?
