The United States Nuclear Weapons Complex

Since the invention of nuclear weapons, they have presented the world with a significant danger, one that was shown in reality during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, nuclear weapons have not only served in combat, but they have also played a role in keeping the world peaceful by the concept of deterrence. The usage of nuclear weapons would lead to mutual destruction and during the Cold War, nuclear weapons were necessary to maintain international security, as a means of deterrence. However, by the end of the Cold War, reliance on nuclear weapons for maintaining peace became increasingly difficult and less effective (Shultz, et. al, 2007). The development of technology has also provided increasing opportunities for states

Nuclear weapons pose a direct and constant threat to people. Not even close from keeping the peace, they breed fear and mistrust among nations. These ultimate instruments

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union each constructed a supply of nuclear weapons. Soviet policy rested on the principle that a nuclear war could be fought and won. The United States embraced nuclear deterrence, the reliable threat of reprisal to prevent enemy attack. To make its threat substantial, the United States during the 1950s established and positioned several types of delivery structures for attacking the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons. Each one of these systems came to be known as the Strategic Triad. One part of the triad was a long range manned bomber that would deliver the nuclear warhead. The second would be land based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM’s). The third part of this triad was nuclear

“This administration has no greater responsibility than the Safety and Security of the American people. And there is no greater threat to the American people than weapons of mass destruction, particularly the danger posed by the pursuit of nuclear weapons by violent extremists and their proliferation to additional states”. (NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY 2010)

Given the progress of globalization, international security has become an entailment that all countries must work on in order to guarantee the perennity of world peace. However, this quietude is threatened by the growing menace of nuclear proliferation. Canada, as a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) since 1969, leads anti-proliferation campaigns to ensure global disarmament.

Within America, the forces between the navy and airforce began to compete, and the stockpile of nuclear weapons began to grow. By late 1960s, there were over 31,000 nuclear weapons and 36 different types. The United States wanted to make the point of “we have more than you.”

Although, the Cold War has been over for decades the threat of imminent nuclear destruction still looms over America; not from terrorist groups such as ISIS or Russia the country with the largest stockpile of nuclear weaponry, but rather, a persistent threat that many Americans do not even perceive as one. North Korea is not shy about demonstrating their nuclear weapons, with the most recent of their tests being fired into the Japanese ocean. Both the articles I’ll be addressing today give a clear statement of how America has addressed nuclear conflict in the past and how Americans still fear the same kinds of attacks without thinking of new ways their country could be compromised by nuclear weaponry.

The Department of Energy is an agency that is a cabinet level. The agency has energy and national security related missions which are very important. Since the World War two and the Manhattan Project Department of Energy is in the system. It was a secret operation that launched effort to improve and store nuclear weapons (allgov, n.d). During the Second World War, after the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1942 Roosevelt approves to produce atomic bomb. President Carter establishes the Department of Energy in 1977(energy, n.d). The Department of Energy originates from the executive branch (archives, n.d). They continue to their strategies, extending from nuclear power to alternative energy and fossil fuels. Currently under

DHS nuclear detection and forensic missions are considered the key elements of the U.S government’s wide ranging approach to prevent any attack, also DHS coordinates the U.S government interagency efforts to develop the global nuclear detection architecture [GNDA], it is a framework of detecting through technical an non technical means and analyzing nuclear and radioactive materials that are out of regulatory control. The programs supporting the global nuclear detection architecture create a multi-layered defensive network to detect interdiction radiological and nuclear material out of regulatory control.

The Department of Defense is mainly responsible for overseeing the nation’s armed forces, including those military units that are specifically trained to operate nuclear weapons ad their specific delivery vehicles, which include missiles, bombers, and submarines that can deliver the weapons to their intended target. Residing within the Department of Defense are a series of unified commands, more specifically, the U.S. Strategic Command, which is based in Nebraska (dosfan.lib.uic.edu). This command is specifically responsible for coordinating the use of each branch of the armed forces (the Navy, Marines, Army, and Air Force) nuclear weaponry. During the Cold War, the U.S. developed the Triad, or the nuclear forces unique to each branch of the military. The Triad consists of the Air Force’s land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the Navy’s ballistic missile submarines (boomers, or SSBNs for short) as well as the manned bombers, which include the B-1, B-52, and B-2s) (stratcom.mil). The theory behind the creation the of the Triad was upon the notion of synergy wherein the difficulties inherent in planning an attack on each branch of the nuclear triad ensured their security against any type o coordinated attack. In other words, an adversary – the former Soviet Union – would not be able to cripple the U.S.

Main articles: Nuclear weapons and the United States and United States and weapons of mass destruction

The Department of Defense plays a large role in its responsibility with nuclear weapons. They are assigned with creating policies that aligns with the NPR (Nuclear Posture Review) to minimize the amount of nuclear weapons that are used in our defense (whitehouse.gov). The DOD is responsible for creating a better plan that utilizes more non-nuclear weaponry and strategy for defending our country. They have to maintain plans and procedures for the use of weapons of mass destruction and it be a last resort type weapon. The DOD is responsible for ensuring the safety of these weapons and making sure they stay where they are stored. This department must maintain these guidelines in

The world has witnessed the emergence of illicit trafficking networks such as : A. Q. Khan and other player’s to sell designs, materials, and equipment that could be used to build nuclear weapons within legitimate trade to conceal their shipments. Still, countries who seek to acquire nuclear weapons programs, and different actors who seek to disrupt global security with nuclear materials will continue to challenge international export regime. Another emerging threat is the potential for nuclear terrorism. The September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, heightened awareness of the threat posed by non-state actors to build a nuclear explosive or nuclear weapon. Illicit trafficking is a complex process which can include: many states, actors, companies, suppliers by which materials are traded. This process takes advantage of weaknesses in the export control systems, and the spread of knowhow on sensitive nuclear technologies which is facilitated by the internet (world-wide communication). These two factors increase the possibility that the state or non-state actors might steal or illicitly purchase highly enriched uranium or plutonium on the black market and use them to construct a nuclear device. The large stockpiles of usable nuclear weapon material around the world and the political instability in countries containing those materials, if they are not secured, make the accidental or unauthorized use of them a continuous risk [13]. This is a growing concern for both the IAEA and member states; in 1995 the IAEA established the Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB).

The creation of the nuclear weapons has caused major concern towards national security worldwide since the 1940’s when the US sets up the Manhattan Project to develop the first nuclear weapon. After the weapons were created we find that more then five nations and counting have been developing their own weapons besides our very own USA. These other nations include but not limited to Russia, United Kingdom, France, India, China, North Korea, Pakistan and Israel. Throughout this paper we are going to take a look at the history of nuclear weapons, mechanical make up, magnitude of destruction, how many nuclear weapon each country has and the future of a possible nuclear war.

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office is the primary entity for nuclear detection in America. Detection is another of the key elements the Department of Homeland Security focuses on improving constantly, through the use of its Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, in order to continue to strive towards fending off terrorist attacks, and providing protection for the American people as well as assist in the international effort to enhance global nuclear security (Department of Homeland Security 2, 2016). The DNDO’s mission is to, “Prevent nuclear terrorism by continuously improving capabilities to deter, detect, respond to, and attribute attacks, in coordination with domestic and