The End of Overkill? Reassessing U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

The End of Overkill? Reassessing U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

Author: Cato Institute October 15, 2013 Duration: 1:31:46
Cato Event Podcast
NewsCommentaryGovernmentPolitics
President Obama recently voiced his ambition to reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal to as few as 1,000 deployed warheads. Yet while the United States has cut the arsenal's size greatly since the Cold War's end, its missions and composition have barely changed. Around 1,600 deployed nuclear weapons remain tied to a triad of systems — bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles — that are designed for preemptive strikes against enemy arsenals. Current plans call for modernizing all three systems, which could cost taxpayers over $100 billion. A new Cato White Paper — The End of Overkill? Reassessing U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy — argues for getting rid of the triad by basing U.S. nuclear weapons exclusively on submarines. It explains how the triad came from bureaucratic compromises, not strategic necessity; punctures the myths that sustained it; and shows how its burden on taxpayers is increasingly unjustified.

Please join us for a discussion of these issues at a forum featuring the paper's authors and two leading experts on U.S. nuclear policy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Step inside the Cato Institute's renowned Washington, D.C. events without leaving your desk. The Cato Event Podcast brings the lecture hall and briefing room directly to you, featuring unfiltered audio from live policy forums, author discussions, and Capitol Hill briefings. Each episode captures the substance of these gatherings, where scholars, policymakers, and leading thinkers engage in detailed conversations about liberty, governance, and current affairs. You'll hear substantive debates and thoughtful commentary that cut through the noise of daily headlines, offering deeper analysis on the issues shaping legislation and public discourse. This isn't a produced studio show; it's a front-row seat to the kind of candid exchanges that happen when experts gather to challenge conventional wisdom. The Cato Institute, through this podcast, provides a direct conduit to these discussions, emphasizing a perspective rooted in individual freedom, limited government, and free markets. Tune in for a raw, intellectual experience that goes beyond soundbites, perfect for anyone who wants to understand the foundational ideas behind today's political news.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 102

Official website RSS
Cato Event Podcast
Podcast Episodes
The Libertarian State of the Union [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:50
In his final State of the Union address, President Obama hinted at plans for his last year in office, which included efforts to further regulate the economy as a means of addressing policy issues like climate change and…
What Are the Rights of the Dying? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:06
Five U.S. states either permit aid in dying or are poised to do so shortly. Several others are considering legislation and/or court judgments that may find in favor of it in various ways. Yet the ethical questions surrou…
GMOs and the Future of the Global Food Supply and Medical Innovations [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:15
For thousands of years, farmers used selective breeding to produce more plentiful harvests and increase the usefulness of domesticated animals. Today, genetic engineering allows businesses to do the same—but more cheaply…
Blood Oil: Tyrants, Violence, and the Rules that Run the World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:18
The benefits from international trade have been huge. However, because of a deep flaw in global markets for natural resources like oil, consumers are forced to enrich repressive governments and armed groups overseas when…
The Assassin’s Veto [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:14
On the morning of January 7, 2015, Cherif and Said Kouachi, two brothers deeply offended by satirical drawings of the Muslim prophet Mohammad published in the French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, exacted their own puni…
Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:14
“We’ve paid a heavy price for having a president whose priority is expanding his own power,” then-senator Barack Obama proclaimed on the campaign trail in 2007. As president, he promised, “I’ll turn the page on the imper…
The Pentagon Budget: Prospects for Reform [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:18
During the Cold War, annual Pentagon spending averaged about $458 billion in today’s prices; over the next decade, its projected budget will average over half a trillion dollars per year. Yet, while our spending is consi…

«1...161718192021222324...33»