The Nuclear Strategy Project is a public education project that examines the status and development of nuclear policy and doctrine in the United States and other nuclear-armed and nuclear-aspiring countries.
Through publication of hard-to-get information about nuclear weapons and nuclear strategy, the project aspires to increase government accountability and empower those who argue for true reform of nuclear strategy and much deeper cuts in nuclear weapons.
Project director Hans M. Kristensen, who analyzes and publishes declassified documents obtained through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, co-authors the World Nuclear Forces appendix to the SIPRI Yearbook and the Nuclear Notebook column in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
The items listed in the bar below provide links to groups of documents about specific aspects of nuclear weapons and nuclear policy.
(September 2002)
“Preemptive posturing“
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
(May 27, 2002)
“12 Million Could Die at Once in an India-Pakistan Nuclear War”
The New York Times
As the primary command responsible for maintaining war plans that involve operations against Chinese forces and territory, U.S. Pacific Command continuously monitors China to update the war plans in response to new developments and guidance. The annual CINCPAC Command History contains brief sections on China which describe developments in Chinese military forces and political issues. […]
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James A. Sands: Evolution of China’s Nuclear Capability In the dissertation for the fulfillment of his curriculum requirement to the Air War College at the Air University, Lieutenant Colonel James A. Sands of the U.S. Air Force outlines some of the main events in China’s development of nuclear weapons and nuclear strategy over the years […]
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NPR Working Group #5: The Relationship Between Alternative Nuclear Postures and Counterproliferation Policy Disclosure of portions of the Bush administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) has resurfaced the issue of what role the US nuclear posture should have in deterring and, if necessary, defeating, the acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD by so-called […]
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Following the demise of the Soviet Union, the United States was struggling with analyzing its new security situation and foreign challenges. James Woolsey, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, said that, “We have slain a large dragon. But now we live in a jungle filled with a bewildering variety of poisonous snakes.” In listing […]
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Most China-related portions of the 1991 CINCPAC history remain classified, but U.S.-China relations appeared to continue at their low level from the late-1980s. CINCPAC’s Pacific Command Strategic included the following objectives for Northeast Asia with specific relevance for China: Maintain open channels with China to allow for renewal of a military relationship as political climate […]
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China’s positive status in support of U.S. foreign policy objectives was further enhanced in 1984. CINCPAC stated that he “appreciated the very important regional and global role” played by China in deterring Vietnamese aggression and countering Soviet power in the Pacific. About half of Vietnam’s forces were tied down along the Chinese border and approximately […]
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