“However, Pelosi apparently favors a blanket ban that would prevent the President from ever launching nuclear missiles first.”
Nancy Pelosi dropped a bombshell on Thursday during a press briefing. The House Minority leader is pressing to restrict President Donald Trump’s ability to use nuclear weapons. If Pelosi has her way, the President would only be able to use nuclear weapons as a retaliatory measure and would not be able to launch a first strike.
“It has nothing to do with him [President Trump]. It has to do with the presidency — any president who is there.”
Interestingly, Pelosi tried to distance her policy aims from any beef with the President himself. Pelosi has been a strong critic of President Trump, especially in regards to foreign policy. She claimed that the 1946 laws that allow the President to order a first strike are “ancient”. Specifically, Pelosi said:
“It was in a different world, and now I think it is necessary for us to address it.”
She also called on lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to get behind the ban on first strikes. However, this seems unlikely. Republicans are unlikely to support any measure that could be seen to reduce America’s military capacity.
Further, while Pelosi claims her comments were not directed at President Trump, they come at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and North Korea. The President has refused to rule out nuclear options when dealing with the rogue nuclear state.
Nuclear strike capabilities could be restricted in a variety of ways. For example, pre-determined cabinet members could be designated and would have to sign off before a pre-emptive nuclear strike is carried out. However, Pelosi apparently favors a blanket ban that would prevent the President from ever launching nuclear missiles first.
President Trump has come on record in support of expanding the United States’ nuclear capacities. Earlier this week NBC News reported that Trump was looking at ways to “greatly” expand America’s nuclear weapons capacities. However, the President and key military personnel denied this report.
To be clear, Pelosi is not aiming to restrict retaliatory strikes, but instead first strikes. The most likely target for such a strike would appear to be North Korea. While North Korea has developed nuclear weapons, it’s unlikely that they would be able to successfully launch a retaliatory strike if attacked tomorrow. However, as the country’s nuclear and missile technologies advance, the risks will increase. In the not so distant future, North Korea may be able to strike Alaska and the Western seaboard.
Regardless, it is unlikely that the United States would order a strike. The global political fallout would be immense. Further, any nuclear strikes so close to China would risk starting a war.
