White House Set to Cut U.S. Nuclear Arsenal by One-Third

Obama is gearing up to sign off “on an internal review of U.S. nuclear weapons strategy” that contains a directive cutting our nuclear arsenal by a third. 

The directive was created last year, and reports indicate that political advisers in the White House pushed to keep it away from the public’s eye prior to the 2012 election–“especially the information on the [arsenal] reductions.”

No one knows how many weapons one-third of the U.S. arsenal represents, as the total number of nuclear weapons in our arsenal is classified, but a third is a third. 

This brings to mind Obama’s May 2012 assurances to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev regarding missile defense. That’s when Obama infamously told Medvedev: “After my election I will have more flexibility.”

We are now in the post-election world. 

If former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) is confirmed for Sec. of Defense, these cuts will be much easier to make as Hagel has already shown support cutting our nuclear arsenal.