Nuclear Paradox: Smaller U.S. Arsenal Requires Big Spending (From Forbes)

When Barack Obama ran for president in 2008, he wasn’t planning to spend huge amounts of money on upgrading the U.S. nuclear arsenal. In fact, fostering a “nuclear-free world” was one of the cornerstones of his proposed defense posture. But as the new administration rewrote U.S. nuclear strategy and negotiated arms reductions, it became apparent that the need for a potent deterrent wasn’t going away anytime soon. So President Obama, a proponent of nuclear disarmament, now finds himself in the paradoxical position of spending more money on new strategic systems and infrastructure than any chief executive since Ronald Reagan. I have written a commentary for Forbes.com on this ironic turn of events that can be found here.