Vol. 55, September 2024
Foreword
In 2018, when I drafted this list of
counterarguments to the common
myths espoused by the large community
of those who do not understand nor
want to understand nuclear deterrence,
the world felt like a much safer place.
There was more time to consider how to
modernize our conventional and nuclear
forces, Russia had not launched a full
invasion into Ukraine, there was no
global pandemic, and China’s military
modernization had not reached the level
of maturity it has today. The current
state of the U.S. military, especially
the U.S. Air Force, is in an even more
precarious position now. However, this
only strengthens the argument for a
credible nuclear deterrent. As I wrote in
2018, “There is simply no conventional
weapon equivalency to the power and
deterrent effects of nuclear weapons.”
Gen Kevin P. Chilton, USAF (Ret.)
A version of this essay first appeared in
Strategic
Studies Quarterly
vol. 12, no 1, Spring 2018.
Today, a plethora of misinformation, falsehoods, and often
deliberate distortions concerning nuclear deterrence continue to be
repeated in public forums. ey are written in editorial pages, spoken
on the news, and even touted by some members of Congress and their
stas. Left unchallenged, these statements run the risk of becoming
accepted as factual by the American public. is article challenges 11 of
the more common fallacies. It is also an eort to create “nuclear weapons
apologists”—those who know how to defend against arguments
challenging the truth and reality of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
1. “We Are Never Going to Use Nuclear Weapons”
e argument presented is, “If we are never going to use
nuclear weapons, why are we wasting so much money sustaining
them?” e reality is the United States uses its nuclear weapons for
their most fundamental purpose every day: to deter an attack on the
U.S. and to assure our allies. Nuclear deterrence is a 24/7 operation
conducted by dedicated professionals in our intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM) elds, in our command and control centers, and
aboard our ballistic missile submarines. Our adversaries see our 24/7
alert postures and consequently assess an attack on the U.S. or its
allies to be an unthinkable choice. e United States uses its nuclear
weapons every day to do the mission they were designed for: to deter.
Of note, the Russians have been using their nuclear capabilities
to deter and coerce. Just after invading Crimea, Russia released a video
of an exercise showing President Vladimir Putin giving the order to
launch a nuclear strike. e next clip shows a ballistic missile launching
from a submarine in Murmansk and impacting on the Kamchatka
Peninsula 20 minutes later. He was sending a signal using his nuclear
capability to warn the world not to challenge his illegal invasion of
sovereign Ukrainian territory.
1
Further, after Sweden expressed
Introduction
Defending the Record on U.S.
Nuclear Deterrence
by Gen Kevin P. Chilton, USAF (Ret.)
Explorer Chair, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE)
MITCHELL INSTITUTE
Policy Paper
