September 13, 2024

Splitting the Atom on U.S. Nuclear Strategy

By: Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, James Acton and Jon B. Wolfsthal

Earlier this year, the Biden administration revised its nuclear strategy, the nuclear employment guidance, which is updated approximately every four years. This time, however, the administration seems to have made some significant changes, placing greater emphasis on China given its growing nuclear capabilities, as well as directing the United States military to prepare for coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China, and North Korea. To help us understand the significance of these reported changes, James Acton and Jon Wolfsthal join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts.

James Acton holds the Jessica T. Matthews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Jon Wolfsthal is the Director of Global Risk at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and an Adjunct Fellow with us at CNAS.

More from CNAS

  • Podcast
    • November 13, 2024
    The Future of Russia and China in Central Asia

    Despite the many proclamations that Russian and Chinese interests would collide in Central Asia, Moscow and Beijing continue to work together in service of their shared object...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

  • Podcast
    • October 25, 2024
    Russia and the Rise of BRICS

    This past Tuesday, Russia hosted a high-profile summit of the BRICS group in Kazan, Russia, demonstrating its growing determination to challenge the Western-led international ...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Kate Johnston

  • Podcast
    • October 17, 2024
    Brussels Sprouts Live: NATO in the American Heartland

    NATO marked its 75th anniversary this year – a testament to the strength and continued relevance of the alliance. Celebrations have been muted however, due to the ongoing conf...

    By Mark Newton, Anniken Huitfeldt, Maria Markowska, John Deni & Rebecca Moore

  • Podcast
    • October 10, 2024
    Russia in the Middle East with Jonathan Lord and Hanna Notte

    One year after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, the crisis in the Middle East has grown more and more complex. With the region teetering on the brink of broader conflict, the B...

    By Jonathan Lord, Hanna Notte, Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia