‘New’ US Strategy Keeps Massive Nuclear Arsenal in Place

The Obama Administration’s ‘new’ strategy for military spending was sold to the public as two things, an effort to reduce costs and a break from the old Cold War mentality toward a new, 21st century philosophy.

In the end, it was neither. Almost the moment it was unveiled, the plan was revealed to actually be an overall increase in spending, with cuts in ground troops more than made up for by increases in spending on pricey warplanes and battleships.

As more details come out the Cold War break appears to be just as false, with no material changes, let alone cuts, to the massive US nuclear weapons arsenal. The plan will likewise keep early Cold War weapons like U-2 spy plane and the B-52 bomber in service.

The “why” behind this appears to be little more than momentum, as 5,000 nuclear weapons are of neither deterrent nor offensive value in any of America’s ongoing military occupations. Though some officials are willing to consider some minor changes to the way the nuclear weapons system is set up, even the crippling US budget crunch has not been enough to start any real debate on its enormity.