Thursday, February 9, 2017

Trump's nuclear options: Upcoming review casts a wide net

Trump's nuclear options: Upcoming review casts a wide net: On Dec. 22, just weeks from taking office, then President-elect Donald Trump shook the military and nuclear communities by tweeting out that the U.S. "must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."

It was a stunning statement, as the push to limit expansion of atomic arms has been a cornerstone of American policy since the height of the Cold War. But Trump doubled down the next day.

"Let it be an arms race,” the president said, according to Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.”

Now, having ordered a new review of America's nuclear arsenal, the world is watching to see how Trump will follow through on those comments.