US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said on Tuesday that unprecedented limits being placed on the US nuclear arsenal would not weaken US defenses and would send a “strong message” to Iran and North Korea to “play by the rules.”
Under the plan, the US would narrow the circumstances under which a nuclear weapon would be used. The new policy would not apply to states like North Korea and Iran because of their refusal to cooperate with the international community on nonproliferation standards.
“All options are on the table when it comes to countries in that category,” Gates said.
US President Barack Obama also has stopped short of saying the US never will be the first to launch a nuclear attack, as many arms control advocates want.
Gates said the administration decided against limiting US options further because of the danger still being posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
“This is obviously a weapon of last resort,” Gates told reporters at a press conference at the Pentagon. However, he said, “we also recognize the real world we continue to live in.”
Gates was joined by other cabinet members in announcing the plan, including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and US Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
Gates said that a new policy restricting the use of nuclear weapons did not apply to countries such as Iran and North Korea, which he said are pursuing nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community.
He also said the US is moving toward a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons but is not ready to devise one yet.
Gates said he did not believe “we were far enough along the road” toward controlling nuclear weapons around the world to give up the right to pre-emptive strikes.
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