The new Vice Chariman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General James Cartwright gave an interviewin which he took a jab at the batshit crazy neo-cons that surround the Vice President and in which he professes to seek to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons for deterrence. He even seemingly came out against development of a low yield nuclear weapon for use against hardened or buried targets, calling it "a good academic argument" that deals with "the what if". To me, knowing how military people think, that means that he considers it something that is unnecessary. Why do I think that?
Theoretically, if a "grave" threat to the United States emerged that could be deterred only by a low-yield nuclear weapon, the general might be persuaded to support its development, he said. However, to date, "I haven’t seen anything that approaches that," Cartwright said.
Not even Iran, General? Little Billy Kristol is going to be cross with you! More on the flip...
To me, the money quote in the whole article, in which he dismisses the whole cabal around the Vice President is here:
He acknowledged that a number of policy advocates — some of whom were appointed by President George W. Bush to positions at the Defense and Energy departments — have seriously pondered the merits of using nuclear weapons.
"But none of them have had the responsibility or the accountability" to launch such weapons, Cartwright said. "I don’t want to put myself in the shoes of a president, but who is not going to take [as] incredibly serious the use of a nuclear weapon?"
For those who are accountable, he added, "it is not just a little bit [of] a weapon of mass destruction. It is a weapon of mass destruction. It is going to change not just that country’s future, but all of our futures when we start using these things, big or little."
Seems quite clear to me that General Cartwright is calling a whole bunch of people on their bullshit. Simpler General Cartwright: this is real life, Richard Perle, Billy Kristol, Michael Ledeen and the rest. You guys can bullshit all you want. We have to be responsible for what happens. You guys will continue collecting your wingnut welfare. We have to live with the consequences.
He also stakes out a position that I find very encouraging – he wants to improve accuracy to a point where nukes are not necessary:
Early in his tenure as head of Strategic Command, the general said he was determined to build long-range conventional weapons that might offer a U.S. president a more viable alternative to nuclear weapons under certain circumstances.
"My priority is not reduced yield," Cartwright told a reporter in April 2005. "It’s to take the accuracy to the point where conventional can substitute for nuclear. That’s my first priority."
And who wouldn’t be happy with that?