Other
Detlef Waechter
{
"authors": [
"Detlef Waechter"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe",
"Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
],
"collections": [
"Transatlantic Cooperation",
"U.S. Nuclear Policy"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "NPP",
"programs": [
"Nuclear Policy"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"Caucasus",
"Russia",
"Western Europe",
"Germany",
"Europe"
],
"topics": [
"Nuclear Policy",
"Global Governance"
]
}
Source: Getty
Other
Why NATO Is on the Right Track
When NATO leaders convene in November, they will undertake a reexamination of the alliance’s policy on nuclear weapons, a review that, spurred by recent nonproliferation initiatives, could split NATO’s members if not handled carefully.
Published on Oct 27, 2010
When NATO leaders convene in Lisbon November 19-20, they will not only update the Alliance’s Strategic Concept to guide its work over the next decade but also reexamine its policy on nuclear weapons. Spurred by recent nonproliferation initiatives, the review could split NATO’s members if not handled carefully.
Detlef Waechter writes that NATO members should endorse the approach Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined in her April meeting with foreign ministers in Estonia, which called for NATO to retain its nuclear status but reduce the role and number of nuclear weapons. This modest but realistic course will allow NATO to play a constructive role in arms control, he argues.
Key Policy Recommendations:
- Conduct a Nuclear Posture Review. NATO leaders should task the North-Atlantic Council with conducting a Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and constructing detailed proposals on NATO’s nuclear policy to review at the next summit meeting.
- Talk with Russia. NATO should use the NPR to bring Russia to the negotiating table on issues of transparency, reduction, and redeployment of nuclear weapons. This issue should top the NATO-Russia Council meeting at Lisbon, which Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has been invited to attend.
- Adopt a multi-track approach. While isolated talks on tactical nuclear weapons will fail, a multi-track approach combining tactical nuclear weapons, stockpiled U.S. strategic weapons, conventional arms control, and missile defense could help the Alliance reach its goal of a nuclear-weapon-free Europe.
Using a multi-track approach “requires considerable will to compromise on the part of the United States, which owns the tactical nuclear weapons in Europe as well as the strategic weapons systems,” Waechter writes. “But the result—a European continent free of nuclear weapons, a NATO reconciled with Russia, and an Alliance free to tackle emerging security threats—would certainly make the effort worthwhile.”
About the Author
Detlef Waechter
Former Visiting Scholar, Nuclear Policy Program
Waechter is a visiting scholar in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program, where his research focuses on NATO, nuclear, security and disarmament policy.
- Thinking Beyond Theories: Concrete Proposals to Make NATO's Future Nuclear Policy Work
- Defining NATO's Future RoleQ&A
Detlef Waechter
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Taking the Pulse: Was it Right to Boycott Eurovision?Commentary
Five countries staged the biggest political boycott in Eurovision history over Israel’s participation. With the FIFA World Cup and other sporting or cultural touchstones on the horizon, are boycotts effective?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Trump Turns NATO into a Tool of CoercionCommentary
The full list of humiliations Europe has endured since Donald Trump returned to the White House makes for grim reading. But Washington’s adversarial approach to its allies undermines its own power base.
Rym Momtaz
- How the EU Can Become Energy IndependentCommentary
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a global energy crisis, but Europe is stuck in reaction mode. Without more strategic foresight, the EU will remain dependent on fossil fuels and will never be truly secure.
Milo McBride, Pauline Gerard
- Deciphering Europe’s Relationship with TurkeyCommentary
Debate is heating up on how Turkey could be integrated into a common European defense framework. Commercial and industrial deals offer a better chance at alignment than sweeping political efforts.
Marc Pierini
- Taking the Pulse: Is it Worth it for Europeans to Placate Trump?Commentary
After spending much of 2025 trying to placate Donald Trump, some European leaders are starting to change posture. But is even a hostile Washington still so important to Europe that the U.S. president’s outbursts are worth putting up with?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
