How many nuclear warheads does the United States need?

Extract

Frank von Hippel, one of the world's leading specialists on nuclear weapons, has provided us—and the presidential candidates—with an important challenge: How are we going to get the stalled nuclear disarmament process moving forward once again? Answering the challenge is particularly problematic because it requires navigating between the national security fears of U.S. political leaders and the apparent disinterest in further nuclear disarmament on the part of the Russian government. Even so, a case can be made for cutting back the deployed U.S. nuclear arsenal.