Why America's Nuclear Deterrence Strategy Needs to Change
From Geopolitics Decanted with Dmitri Alperovitch by Silverado Policy Accelerator
July 2, 2025 · 46 min · Episode 74
About this episode
Dmitri Alperovitch discusses the urgent need for changes in America's nuclear deterrence strategy with Vipin Narang.
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Vipin Narang, a former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, a portfolio which includes U.S nuclear weapons employment strategy, about why we are now entering the New Nuclear Age and the urgent changes that the United States has to make to its nuclear deterrence posture and strategy. They also debate the utility of counterforce vs countervalue nuclear targeting approaches and how believable the U.S. extended nuclear deterrence is to allies. 00:00 Introduction 00:57 Israel-Iran War 11:47 CAT5 Hurricane of Nuclear Threats 13:50 Is China Preparing to Fight a Nuclear War? 18:04 Debating Counterforce vs. Countervalue Nuclear Targeting Strategies 24:32 Is Nuclear Extended Deterrence Believable to Allies? 40:02 Is Pakistan Building ICBMs to Target the United States? 42:44 Does America Need Mobile ICBM Launchers? How to Survive the New Nuclear Age by Vipin Narang and Pranay Vaddi: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/how-survive-new-nuclear-age-narang-vaddi
People in this episode
Host: Dmitri Alperovitch
Guest: Vipin Narang
Topics covered
- nuclear deterrence
- U.S. defense strategy
- counterforce vs countervalue
- extended nuclear deterrence
- nuclear threats
- geopolitical tensions
Keywords
- nuclear strategy
- deterrence posture
- counterforce
- countervalue
- ICBMs
- nuclear war
- extended deterrence
- geopolitics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: U.S, Foreign Affairs
Products: How to Survive the New Nuclear Age
Places: Israel, Iran, China, Pakistan
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