“In sum, nuclear weapons remain indispensable, and nuclear escalation continues to remain an element of any modern strategy.

Asymmetry will be used by all conflict parties, which means both that our side must be more prepared for the unexpected than ever before, and that the opponent must never know how, where or when we will act. To act asymmetrically could well be an instrument in regaining the initiative and could require deployment of the full range of options, from diplomacy to military intervention. Nuclear escalation is the ultimate step in responding asymmetrically, and at the same time the most powerful way of inducing uncertainty in an opponent’s mind.”

Excerpted from “Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World” (pdf) p97. Isn’t “Unbalanced” a synonym of asymmetrical?

This gem is offered on the website of CSIS, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The CSIS Europe and International Security Programs, in partnership with the Noaber Foundation, hosted the launch of “Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World: Renewing the Transatlantic Partnership,” a new report authored by Gen. Dr. Klaus Naumann (Germany), Gen. John Shalikashvili (United States), Field Marshal The Lord Inge (United Kingdom), Adm. Jacques Lanxade (France), and Gen. Henk van den Breemen (the Netherlands), with Benjamin Bilski and Douglas Murray. The event also featured commentary by Robert E. Hunter, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO.

In the report, these five distinguished military leaders consider the complexity of emerging global security challenges and the capabilities of existing institutions to address them. They conclude that dealing with these challenges requires a new transatlantic grand strategy that ensures a better integration of military and non-military capabilities. They argue that a transformed NATO, working closely with the European Union, should serve as the core element of a future security architecture. The group advances a number of near- and longer-term proposals to enhance NATO and transatlantic unity of effort. They advocate replacing the two-pillar concept of U.S.-European relations with an alliance of democracies ranging from Finland to Alaska.

They also advocate a nuclear first-strike, setting the stage for a new picnic in Iran. Well, see, we have all these nukes. We can’t just let them go to waste…

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