U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy: Considering 'No First Use' [Updated April 16, 2021]   [open pdf - 618KB]

From the Document: "On April 15, 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren [hyperlink] and Representative Adam Smith introduced legislation [hyperlink] that declared, 'It is the policy of the United States to not use nuclear weapons first.' Other Members of Congress are divided on this issue. Senator Dianne Feinstein has argued [hyperlink] that the only moral use for U.S. nuclear weapons is as a deterrent to their use. Senator Deb Fischer, on the other hand, has said [hyperlink] that the proposal 'betrays a naïve and disturbed world view.' President Biden has spoken [hyperlink], in the past, about his support for a 'sole purpose' [hyperlink] policy for nuclear weapons, which some see as similar to 'no first use,' but the President has not yet taken steps to review or alter U.S. nuclear policy. A 'no first use' policy would represent a change from current policy, where the United States has pledged [hyperlink] to refrain from using nuclear weapons against most non-nuclear weapon states, but has neither ruled out their first use in all cases nor specified the circumstances under which it would use them."