Future roles of U.S. nuclear forces : implications for U.S. strategy / Glenn C. Buchan ... [and others].

"MR-1231-AF"--P. [4] of cover.

"Prepared for the United States Air Force."

Introduction -- Nuclear weapons and U.S. security, back to basics: What nuclear weapons do -- Risks and disadvantages of nuclear weapons -- Historical legacy -- Contemporary roles for U.S. nuclear weapons: New security environment -- Future nuclear threats -- Other kinds of threats -- U.S. national security policy; a spectrum of possibilities -- Abstinence -- Defense -- Counterforce and countermilitary operations -- Deterrence and coercion -- Potential roles for U.S. nuclear weapons -- Terror weapons/traditional deterrence -- Counterforce -- Special targets -- Critical military situations -- Stressing cases; some contemporary comparisons between nuclear and conventional weapons: Strategic nuclear weapons in halting invading armies -- Halting an army; nuclear weapons -- Halting an army; smart/brilliant weapons -- Halting an army; collateral damage possibilities-- Halting an army; pros and cons of nuclear versus conventional weapons -- Strategic nuclear weapons in destroying hardened bunkers containing WMD --D

Since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. has reexamined its basic assumptions about foreign policy and instruments of national security policy. This study examines the possible roles of nuclear weapons in contemporary U.S. national security policy.