The Hill News

From speeches by Rep. Turner (R-Ohio), to an op-ed by former White House staff in these pages, the debate over U.S. nuclear policy appears to be heating up. Recent weeks have seen a concerted effort to portray the ongoing Pentagon review of our nuclear deterrence stance â€" how many warheads, deployed against what threats, how best safeguarded â€" as putting the nation’s security at risk, or even “dangerous.”

As a former White House speechwriter myself, I was pleased and bemused to see my counterparts from the George H.W. Bush administration calling attention to nuclear issues. Their rhetoric is tremendous -- but as policy, it is simply wrong. Bipartisan military leaders and security experts say â€" and have said for years â€" that we can maintain our security at levels even lower than what’s under consideration. 

We can make changes to our force posture â€" how we deploy our weapons â€" that would increase our own security and that of our alli! es. And in an era where our greatest security challenges are not nuclear superpower rivals, and where every defense dollar is under close scrutiny, the Pentagon itself has higher priorities.

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