Moscow. November 6th. INTERFAX - US President Joe Biden's promise to limit the role of nuclear weapons in the country's strategic concept has faced resistance from the Pentagon, which wants to maintain the status quo in the face of an arms buildup in China and Russia, Politico reported, citing its own sources.
At the beginning of his presidency, Biden made it clear that he wanted to follow his long-held belief that it was possible to limit the role of nuclear weapons and the likelihood of conflict.
"We will take steps to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, while ensuring that our strategic deterrence remains safe, reliable and effective," he said in March this year.
The publication writes that Biden's national security advisers will soon reconsider the conditions under which the United States can resort to the use of nuclear weapons. Among the options are adopting a "do not use first" policy or declaring that the "sole purpose" of the country's arsenal is to contain a nuclear conflict, rather than using it in a conventional war.
Both would mean serious deviations from the current position, which throughout the nuclear age has been deliberately ambiguous about whether the United States can strike first, and according to which atomic weapons are designed to "deter nuclear and non-nuclear attack," the publication says.
However, according to Politico, the Ministry of Defense is strongly opposed to such changes. The newspaper writes: "It looks like the Pentagon doesn't want to give him (Biden- IF) a big choice."
"It is unlikely that a single goal or refusal of a preemptive strike will be presented as options," a Pentagon official told the publication.
The National Security Council (NSC) plans to hold a high-level meeting on nuclear policy this month, a White House official told Politico on condition of anonymity. And in November, at a meeting of the National Security Council, Biden is expected to approve the country's nuclear doctrine, which is planned to be prepared by January 2022.
Earlier, The Financial Times newspaper reported that US allies at the G20 summit put pressure on Biden to confirm the immutability of the principles of the use of nuclear weapons, in particular, the possibility of a preemptive strike.
According to the publication, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Australia are trying to ensure that Washington does not abandon the principle of preemptive strike in the event of an immediate threat to US security.
They fear that the agreement of the United States to commit itself not to use nuclear weapons first may weaken the American "nuclear umbrella" covering them.
