U.S. needs more effective defensive capabilities to deal with regional nuclear-armed adversaries
All of this points to the need for much more effective capabilities for preventing nuclear weapons from being used—in particular, to some combination of counterforce capability and wide-area defenses against the most important means of delivering nuclear weapons. Both tasks—finding and neutralizing nuclear weapons and intercepting their delivery vehicles—pose daunting technical and operational challenges. Seriously pursuing these capabilities will require major investments—requirements that will be seen as threats to a host of other budgetary priorities. But without such capabilities, the United States and its allies will find themselves compelled to live with new limits on their freedom of action when it comes to confronting nucleararmed regional adversaries.
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The U.S. could respond to an Iranian nuclear capability by deploying missile defense capabilities to the Middle East, blunting the effect of Iran's missiles while also dissuading them from continuing to develop their capabilities further.
Keywords:Related Quotes:- U.S. offer of security guarantees and deployment of theater-based missile defense would be more credible than extending its "nuclear umbrella"
- U.S. should increase Israel's tolerance for diplomacy by providing nuclear security guarantees and missile defense capability
- Building up U.S. missile defense capabilities could deter Iranian aggression and dissuade them from further improvements
- Without more effective defenses, U.S. will be constrained in dealing with nuclear-armed regional adversaries
- U.S. needs more effective defensive capabilities to deal with regional nuclear-armed adversaries
- Renewed commitment to deploying missile defense would remove efficacy of Iran's nuclear weapons program
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