by Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service
3/10/2014 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The
Defense Department's nuclear deterrent is the ultimate protection for
the United States while also assuring distant allies of their security
against regional aggression, a senior Pentagon official told Congress
March 7.
Elaine Bunn, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and
missile defense policy told the Senate Armed Services Committee's
strategic forces subcommittee that while Defense Department
modernization goals largely have not changed since 2010, some
adjustments are on the horizon.
One such change, she reported, involves the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty force structure.
"The administration is considering how to reduce non-deployed strategic
delivery vehicles to comply with the limits of the new START treaty by
February 2018," she said. "And we will make a final force structure
decision and inform Congress prior to the start of fiscal year 2015."
Bunn expressed concern about Russian activity that appears to be
inconsistent with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
"We've raised the issue with Russia," she told the senators. "They
provided an answer that was not satisfactory to us, and we told them
that the issue is not closed."
With regard to recent ethical issues involving Air Force and Navy
nuclear personnel, Bunn noted that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has
created both internal and external special review panels.
"Those reviews are not about assigning blame," she said. "They're about
identifying, assessing, and correcting any systemic deficiencies that we
may uncover and in applying the best practices for carrying out our
nuclear mission across the nuclear force."
Bunn also said the recently released 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review
makes clear the key role of nuclear forces in the DOD strategy.
"It ... supports our ability to project power by communicating to
potential nuclear-armed adversaries that they cannot escalate their way
out of failed conventional aggression," Bunn said.
The department's budget request for fiscal 2015 supports DOD's nuclear
policy goals as laid out in the 2010 nuclear posture review, in
President Barack Obama's June 2013 nuclear employment strategy, and in
the 2014 QDR, she added.
As a result, Bunn reported, Pentagon officials will continue to ensure
that the current and future administrations have suitable options for
deterring, responding to, and managing a diverse range of situations,
including regional deterrence challenges.
"We continue to work closely with our allies, some of whom live in very
dangerous neighborhoods, to ensure continuing confidence in our shared
national security goals, including assurance of our extended nuclear
deterrence commitments," she told the Senate panel.
Critical to maintaining a safe, secure and effective force is the
preservation of the nuclear triad: strategic bombers, intercontinental
ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, Bunn said.
Monday, March 10, 2014
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