This month marks the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombings that brought the Second World War to an end. On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped a 16 kiloton nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing 140,000 people and immediately burning more than four square miles of the city. Three days later, another atomic bomb with an explosive power of 21 kilotons was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 74,000 people and obliterating everything within a 1,000-yard radius. Thousands more were left homeless from the devastation and suffered radiation side effects for the rest of their lives.

On July 25 the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on the appropriate size of the US nuclear weapons stockpile to maintain a credible deterrent. Former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright headlined the witness panel, which also included former US Ambassador to Russia Tom Pickering and NoH favorite Keith Payne.

The fundamental objectives of U.S. nuclear deterrence policy have remained largely consistent since 1991, even as the threat environment and the size of the nuclear weapons stockpile have changed. The current process for developing nuclear targeting and employment guidance has remained consistent. However, the structure of the nuclear war plan, and the categories and number of targets in the plan, have changed. DOD continues to exercise civilian oversight of the targeting process. The indirect relationship between the targeting process and DOD’s determination of requirements for nuclear weapons and delivery systems also continues.