Is it time for America to scrap its intercontinental ballistic missiles?

Time for Some Bold Thinking on America’s Nukes?

While the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was debating the merits or otherwise of a U.S. president’s broad authority to launch a nuclear strike, “a growing number of former defense officials, scholars of military strategy and some members of Congress” believe that one option should be taken off the table altogether, Scot Paltrow writes for Reuters. Is it time for America to scrap its intercontinental ballistic missiles?

Critics of the ICBM arsenal argue that “in the event of an apparent enemy attack, a president’s decision to launch must be made so fast that there would not be time to verify the threat. False warnings could arise from human error, malfunctioning early warning satellites or hacking by third parties,” Paltrow says.

“Once launched, America’s current generation of ICBM missiles, the Minuteman III, cannot be recalled: They have no communication equipment because the United States fears on-board gear would be vulnerable to electronic interference by an enemy.

“These critics recommend relying instead on the other two legs of the U.S. nuclear ‘triad’: submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers armed with hydrogen bombs or nuclear-warhead cruise missiles. The president would have more time to decide whether to use subs or bombers.”

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