Obama limits use of nuclear arsenal in new strategy

Promising to reduce America's nuclear arsenal, president Barack Obama is narrowing down conditions under which the US could use nuclear weapons but will make sure that North Korea and Iran remain exceptions under the revamped strategy.In his Nuclear Posture Review to be released today, Obama has however rejected the proposal that the sole purpose of  nuclear arms is deterrence.The Nuclear Posture Review an important part of Obama's ambition to reduce nuclear arms from the world, also does notpromise that the US will not be the first to use nuclear weapons in a war."Under the new policy, the administration will foreswear the use of the deadly weapons against non-nuclear countries in contrast to previous administrations, which indicated they might use nuclear arms against non-nuclear states in retaliation for a biological or chemical attack," The Washington Post reported.The new policy will narrow potential US nuclear targets, and for the first time makes explicit the goal of making deterrence of a nuclear strike the "sole objective" of US nuclear weapons, The Wall Street Journal said."But Obama included a major caveat: The countries must be in compliance with their non-proliferation obligations under international treaties. That loophole would mean Iran wouldremain on the potential target list," it said.

In an interview to New York Times, Obama said he would make exceptions for "outliers like Iran and North Korea". 

A senior Administration official briefing reporters on the background said, for the first time nations complying withtheir nuclear non-proliferation obligations that attack the USor its allies with chemical or biological weapons will nolonger be threatened with nuclear retaliation.But the president will make clear they would "face the prospect of a devastating conventional attack," the official said.The document is expected to announce that the Pentagon will retire the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, a ship-and-submarine-launched cruise missile that has been in storage.But it is expected to leave unresolved the issue of whether to retire the estimated 200 tactical, or battlefield, nuclear weapons that are based in Europe," it said.According to The Journal, the document will more clearly say the US will not attack non-nuclear nations that have signed and are complying with the UN non-proliferation treaty. 

"That effectively narrows the potential US nuclear targets to the eight declared nuclear powers, as well as Iran and possibly Syria, said Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, an arms-control group.