On Monday evening I was honored to participate in a debate hosted by the Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on “The Role of Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Responding to the Crisis in Crimea.”
The debate addressed the following proposition: “Resolved: In response to the Crimea crisis, the United States should reassess the strategic rationale for not placing NATO’s tactical nuclear weapons into Central and Eastern European states.”
Needless to say I don’t need to tell you where I came down. My sparring partner was Peter Doran of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), who took the affirmative view.
Earlier in the day on Monday NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that he did not foresee any NATO request to move tactical nuclear weapons to central and eastern Europe.
You can watch the full debate at the CSIS PONI website here or in the video embedded below. You can read the full text of my opening statement here.
