The nuclear deterrent is not the only element of America's commitment to the region, of course.
It's not just critics of the nuclear deterrent that question whether that's still a reasonable figure.
The last two portions of the Roundtable dealt with the technical details of the CTBT and the nuclear deterrent.
The biggest of these is the nuclear deterrent, currently in Scottish territory.
During first minister's questions on Tuesday, Carwyn Jones suggested the nuclear deterrent could come to Milford Haven if forced to look for a home elsewhere.
The long range of the missiles and the ability of SSBNs to hide in the ocean make this the most survivable leg of the nuclear deterrent.
But critics say Trident is too expensive, and there have been calls to either scrap the nuclear deterrent or switch to a cheaper land-based missile system.
It also asks if the government has assessed the risk of some corporate headquarters leaving Scotland, and how jobs would replace those linked to the nuclear deterrent.
President Obama proposes to deal with the proliferating threat of nuclear weapons and associated ballistic missiles by savaging the nuclear deterrent force and missile defenses that keep us safe.
With regard to Trident, they say it would involve the loss of thousands of jobs and would cost billions in enforced redeployment, should the nuclear deterrent have to be moved.
That safety, and indeed, the reliability and credibility of the nuclear deterrent will, accordingly, rely ever more critically on a dwindling number of highly skilled scientists, engineers and technicians in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex.
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To an extent largely unknown to the American people and even to many U.S. policy-makers, the nuclear deterrent that has been the backbone of our defense posture for fifty years is becoming obsolete, unreliable and potentially ineffective.
And then just quickly on the Nuclear Posture Review -- what is your response to criticism from some who are saying that it just makes the United States less safe by taking a big -- the possibility of nuclear deterrent off the table?
But most important, it raised serious concerns about the long-term viability of the American nuclear deterrent.
In line with long-standing SNP policy, he is completely opposed to the Trident nuclear deterrent.
Moreover, the Pakistani nuclear deterrent has made it immune from US proliferation pressures.
Coalition divisions are also looming over the Trident nuclear deterrent.
In truth, it is appalling that neither the Democrat-controlled 103rd Congress nor the Republican-controlled 104th has taken the administration to task for an agenda that will, in due course, render the American nuclear deterrent unsustainable.
There is no easy answer to the threat of North Korean nuclear proliferation: It might be better for the South to have its own nuclear deterrent than for the U.S. to stay involved.
The new strategy will emphasize reducing reliance on the role of nuclear weapons in deterrence, and will commit to accelerating the deployment of non-nuclear deterrent capabilities, such as missile defenses and the forward deployment of U.S. forces to trouble spots.
The vessels currently provide a nuclear deterrent because the submarines, under the waves in secret locations, would be almost impossible to destroy in a pre-emptive strike.
Shadow defence minister Kevan Jones said it was "absolutely right and necessary" for the UK to retain an independent nuclear deterrent but the cost needed to be taken into account.
In fact, in the absence of such a commitment to assure the future viability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, it is not clear that the Nation can live with the very low levels of nuclear forces Mr. Bush prefers.
There were concerns a decade ago that the U.S. might be unable to safely and reliably maintain its own nuclear deterrent and the nuclear umbrella that protects our allies such as Japan, Australia and South Korea if it forever surrendered the right to test its weapons.
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It should now be clear that a failure to modernize our nuclear weapons complex and the weapons themselves, including the delivery systems, not only threatens the continuing reliability and credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, it threatens the basic tenets of our national security strategy since the end of the Cold War.
The home of the UK's nuclear deterrent, Trident, is currently at Faslane on the Clyde.
The discussion revealed that the continuing requirement for a robust nuclear deterrent dictates that the United States continue to field manned bombers capable of penetrating advanced air defenses.
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While testing at that level is better than not being able to test at all, confidence in the credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent simply cannot be maintained without the ability to test at higher yield levels at least on an exceptional basis.
It is at least as important, though, to address an even more fundamental issue: Would such assurances to South Korea and perhaps to other allies around the world about the continued effectiveness and reliability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent been necessary at all had the Obama administration not recklessly pursued policies that predictably devalue and undermine that deterrent?
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In short, despite the welcome recognition of the need for credible sub-strategic nuclear deterrent forces for the foreseeable future, the actual decisions taken at the NATO summit set the stage for inaction on replacement of obsolescing systems and for new negotiations that will make it problematic even to retain the aging ones now deployed.
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