Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations
Encyclopedia
The Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations was a U.S. Department of Defense document publicly discovered in 2005 on the circumstances under which commanders of U.S. forces could request the use of nuclear weapons. The document was a draft being revised to be consistent with the Bush doctrine
of preemptive attack.
The doctrine cites 8 reasons under which field commanders can ask for permission to use nuclear weapons:
Below are some quotes from the executive summary of the document..
Note: After public exposure, the Pentagon
has hidden the Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations and three related documents, referring to this as "cancelling" the documents.
The decision to "cancel" the documents simply removes controversial documents from the public domain and from the Pentagon's internal reading list. The White House
and Pentagon guidance that directs the use of nuclear weapons remains unchanged by the cancellation.
"The use of nuclear weapons represents a significant escalation from conventional warfare and may be provoked by some action, event, or threat. However, like any military action, the decision to use nuclear weapons is driven by the political objective sought."...
"Integrating conventional and nuclear attacks will ensure the most efficient use of force and provide US leaders with a broader range of strike options to address immediate contingencies… This integration will ensure optimal targeting, minimal collateral damage, and reduce the probability of escalation." ...
"Although the United States may not know with confidence what threats a state, combinations of states, or nonstate actors pose to US interests, it is possible to anticipate the capabilities an adversary might use…
These capabilities require maintaining a diverse mix of conventional forces capable of high-intensity, sustained, and coordinated actions across the range of military operations; employed in concert with survivable and secure nuclear forces" ...
"The immediate and prolonged effects of nuclear weapons including blast (overpressure, dynamic pressure, ground shock, and cratering), thermal radiation (fire and other material effects), and nuclear radiation (initial, residual, fallout, blackout, and electromagnetic pulse), impose physical and psychological challenges for combat forces and noncombatant populations alike. These effects also pose significant survivability requirements on military equipment, supporting civilian infrastructure resources, and host-nation/coalition assets. US forces must prepare to survive and perhaps operate in a nuclear/radiological environment."
In 2010 U.S. President Barack Obama
, in a Nuclear Posture Review
, announced a new policy that is much stricter about when the U.S. would order a nuclear strike.
Bush Doctrine
The Bush Doctrine is a phrase used to describe various related foreign policy principles of former United States president George W. Bush. The phrase was first used by Charles Krauthammer in June 2001 to describe the Bush Administration's unilateral withdrawals from the ABM treaty and the Kyoto...
of preemptive attack.
The doctrine cites 8 reasons under which field commanders can ask for permission to use nuclear weapons:
- An enemy using or threatening to use WMDWeapons of mass destructionA weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
against US, multinational, or alliance forces or civilian populations. - To prevent an imminent biological attackBiological warfareBiological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
. - To attack enemy WMD or its deep hardened bunkers containing WMD that could be used to target US or its allies.
- To stop potentially overwhelming conventional enemy forces.
- To rapidly end a war on favorable US terms.
- To make sure US and international operations are successful.
- To show US intent and capability to use nuclear weapons to deter enemy from using WMDs.
- To react to enemy-supplied WMD use by proxies against US and international forces or civilians.
Below are some quotes from the executive summary of the document..
Note: After public exposure, the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
has hidden the Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations and three related documents, referring to this as "cancelling" the documents.
The decision to "cancel" the documents simply removes controversial documents from the public domain and from the Pentagon's internal reading list. The White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and Pentagon guidance that directs the use of nuclear weapons remains unchanged by the cancellation.
"The use of nuclear weapons represents a significant escalation from conventional warfare and may be provoked by some action, event, or threat. However, like any military action, the decision to use nuclear weapons is driven by the political objective sought."...
"Integrating conventional and nuclear attacks will ensure the most efficient use of force and provide US leaders with a broader range of strike options to address immediate contingencies… This integration will ensure optimal targeting, minimal collateral damage, and reduce the probability of escalation." ...
"Although the United States may not know with confidence what threats a state, combinations of states, or nonstate actors pose to US interests, it is possible to anticipate the capabilities an adversary might use…
These capabilities require maintaining a diverse mix of conventional forces capable of high-intensity, sustained, and coordinated actions across the range of military operations; employed in concert with survivable and secure nuclear forces" ...
"The immediate and prolonged effects of nuclear weapons including blast (overpressure, dynamic pressure, ground shock, and cratering), thermal radiation (fire and other material effects), and nuclear radiation (initial, residual, fallout, blackout, and electromagnetic pulse), impose physical and psychological challenges for combat forces and noncombatant populations alike. These effects also pose significant survivability requirements on military equipment, supporting civilian infrastructure resources, and host-nation/coalition assets. US forces must prepare to survive and perhaps operate in a nuclear/radiological environment."
In 2010 U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, in a Nuclear Posture Review
Nuclear posture review
The Nuclear Posture Review is a process “to determine what the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security strategy should be.”The first NPR of 2002 was the second of these quadrennial reviews of United States nuclear forces undertaken by the United States Department of Defense. The first took place...
, announced a new policy that is much stricter about when the U.S. would order a nuclear strike.
See also
- Nuclear strategyNuclear strategyNuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons.As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends...
- Nuclear Posture ReviewNuclear posture reviewThe Nuclear Posture Review is a process “to determine what the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security strategy should be.”The first NPR of 2002 was the second of these quadrennial reviews of United States nuclear forces undertaken by the United States Department of Defense. The first took place...
- Nuclear weapons and the United StatesNuclear weapons and the United StatesThe United States was the first country to develop nuclear weapons, and is the only country to have used them in warfare, with the separate bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Before and during the Cold War it conducted over a thousand nuclear tests and developed many long-range...
- Jorge E. HirschJorge E. HirschJorge E. Hirsch is an Argentine American professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. He is known for his for public warnings in 2005 and 2006 about the increasing risk of nuclear war that he claimed was being caused by an unnecessarily aggressive military nuclear policy on the...
- Seymour HershSeymour HershSeymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...