Gates Rumored To Be Holding Up Lame Nuclear Policy Proposal

By Cernig

Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, the Arms Control Wonk, has heard a rumor that the long holdup in producing the (still) forthcoming administration follow-on white paper to Maintaining Deterrence in the 21st Century is due to:

SECDEF [Bob Gates], who “is too wise to sign some cut-and-paste job that will insult the intelligence of the authorizers and appropriators in Congress.” (Paraphrasing without some of the colorful metaphors.)

It's been months and months since Congress pointed out that the US doesn't actually have a nuclear policy and demanded that the Bush administration get one before Congress would fund the next generation of nukes the White House wants. That Gates would be the hold up, demanding there be some actual policy proposals in their responses, makes sense. He's the only one with even an ounce of sanity. But Jeffrey says he only has one, unsubstantiated source for his tale and wonders if anyone else has heard the same thing.

More on America's lack of a policy to go with the most destructive inventory in its arsenal here.