A year or so ago, I gave my undergrad engineers a homework prompt: How many nuclear weapons does the US need to feel secure?
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Literally none of them would have said "10X the current number." Not because I'm oppressive. Because it's *stupid.* https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-wanted-dramatic-increase-nuclear-arsenal-meeting-military-leaders-n809701 …
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Because it would indicate a fragility the United States does not have. Because they recognize that Russia would feel compelled to match.
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Because they recognize that there are costs and risks. Because they recognize that this is a policy question, not a penis-measuring contest.
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The good news here is that literally nobody in the military or government probably thinks that a 10X increase is feasible or a good idea.
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And Trump's attention span is too short, and his will too weak, to pull something like that off. He has no clue what is behind the numbers.
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He doesn't realize that you can't just conjure nukes out of thin air, that they can't just be manufactured at will, on the spot anymore.
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But it confirms again this obvious truth: he is manifestly unfit to be dealing with nuclear weapons. And yet...https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/12/01/no-one-can-stop-president-trump-from-using-nuclear-weapons-thats-by-design/?utm_term=.f299c4136e5d …
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For what it is worth, I do not think it is worth even analyzing this as any kind of realistic policy proposal. It is impossible.
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It is just a sign of his lack of understanding of the issues, and perhaps a window into his own insecurities.
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To illustrate the issue, to produce ~1,000 warheads/year, you need the nuclear complex that Eisenhower had. That took a decade to build.
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That is just the warheads. You would need much more to produce the missiles, subs, bombers, that might carry them. It's not happening.
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End of conversation
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Or possibly even not match, deciding they had enough to deter us if need be, leaving us with pure cost.
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