Threat of WMD: Will We Hold It at Risk, Or Be Held at Risk by It

摘要

American interests require the U.S. military to maintain a power projection capability to defend those interests. WMD can effectively hold the U. S. at risk - vice the U.S. holding such threatening actors at risk. The threat such weapons impose on U.S. national interest, American citizens, and to U.S. allies requires more than reliance on deterrence and U.S. non-proliferation (NP) efforts. More active options, such as a preenptive strike capability, offer a greater deterrent threat than the threat of retaliation. This capability is required in our counter-proliferation (OP) efforts, and should be utilized to reduce the threat to American forces (in the event deterrence fails). Operational commanders must have the capability to deny the adversary an ability to hold us at risk with WMD. We must develop, the necessary tools to conduct preemptive strike options (and refine and exercise these capabilities), before we again encounter the threat of utilization of WMD against our forces. Without the above requisite tools, we will limit our options to response only. Without the capability to preempt an adversary's threatened use of WMD, we will remain at risk, vice holding this threat at risk. In order to counter this threat, these shortfalls must be fixed. If we do not actively seek to deny our adversary his WMD threat, we will be locked into facing the threat of deploying, operating, and fighting in contaminated environments.