A nuclear response to nuclear terror: reflections of nuclear preemption
In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Band 607, Heft 1, S. 59-63
ISSN: 0002-7162
The threat of nuclear terrorism in the United States has led its leadership to contemplate an extreme military response--namely, nuclear preemption. To some preemption proponents, nuclear weapons are no longer considered the option of last resort. This article argues that reducing the nuclear threshold for some international actors and not others is perhaps just as dangerous as the proliferation the nuclear preemption doctrine is trying counter. The nuclear "taboo" has once again ceased to exist.[Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2006 The American Academy of Political and Social Science.]