Extended Nuclear Deterrence: Under the Umbrella

In his now famous Prague speech last April, United States President Barack Obama endorsed the vision of a world without nuclear weapons. He sent a strong political signal: if repairing the fragile nuclear nonproliferation arrangements required a credible disarmament commitment by the nuclear weapons states, America was willing to lead by example. But setting that example could become much more complex if a whole host of new nuclear states is to be avoided. The American nuclear umbrella is still needed to shelter many nations, preventing them from pursuing their own nuclear paths.