Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made his strongest public case yesterday for a plan, opposed by some in Congress and by Russia, to convert some of the Navy's nuclear long-range missiles to a conventional role for potential use against terrorist targets anywhere in the world. Opponents of the plan argue that it could create a situation in which a non-nuclear U.S. Trident SLBM would be mistaken for a nuclear launch and risk the possibility of a retaliatory nuclear strike.
Rumsfeld said he thought little of that argument. He said the Pentagon would be "fully transparent" with Moscow about any conversion of strategic missiles, so that there was no room for miscalculation.
The idea is that this prospective weapon would be used as a way of maximizing U.S. options for "preventive strikes," meaning attacks against terrorist targets that are launched not in response to a terrorist act but in order to destroy a terrorist weapon before it can be used.
This plan has already been in the works for several months. Earlier this year, the Pentagon developed the Conventional Trident Modification program to diversify its strategic options. The $503 million program would have converted existing Trident II missiles (presumably those scheduled for decommissioning of their warheads) into conventional weapons. It offered the promise of accurate conventional strikes with little warning and flight time.
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear the Moscow is in the mood to embrace it. Ivanov made clear that his government opposes the idea. "These are preliminary plans, and for sure these U.S. plans raise Russian concerns," Ivanov said. "There are different solutions" to that problem, such as cruise missiles, which traditionally carry conventional warheads and would not be mistaken for a possible nuclear strike.
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