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File Name | S21-Policy-Stoa-03-AFF-NATONukes.docx |
File Size | 78.38 KB |
Date added | August 17, 2020 |
Category | Archived |
Tags | Debate, Policy, Season 21, Stoa |
Case Summary: This plan cancels the US military commitment to stationing tactical nuclear weapons in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. Tactical nuclear weapons are small nuclear bombs that are intended to be used to defeat a mass of enemy forces in a battlefield situation. They are in contrast to “strategic” nuclear weapons, which are launched from the homeland against the enemy’s homeland and would take out major cities (this plan does not affect “strategic” nuclear weapons at all). Tactical nukes were a key part of the defense of Western Europe during the Cold War, because of fears about the numerical superiority of Warsaw Pact (communist alliance) forces and their potential to overrun NATO. Most of them were removed after the Cold War ended, but 150-200 still remain and the Status Quo is committed to keeping them there. In fact, the US has announced a policy of upgrading them in ways that make them easier to use and therefore more dangerous because they are more likely to be used and start a nuclear war. They’re also stored at insecure facilities and sometimes in insecure places (e.g. Turkey). NATO and world security would be enhanced by removing this lethal legacy, and bringing these weapons back home to the U.S.