A bombshell study claims the United States is needlessly shelling out $10 billion to upgrade out-of-date nuclear bombs throughout Europe.
The report by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), founded in 2001 by former Sen. Sam Nunn and media tycoon Ted Turner, says the weapons in question are no longer effective and may pose a "catastrophic" security liability.
"Forward-deployed U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe increase the risk of accidents, blunders, or catastrophic terrorism and invite pre-emption," Nunn and Ernest Moniz, who served as Barack Obama’s energy secretary, write in the study.
"Given these added risks, it is past time to revisit whether these forward-based weapons are essential for military deterrence and political reassurance."
The weapons include B61 bombs, thermonuclear gravity weapons that weigh 700 pounds apiece and were first manufactured in 1968. Those devices, in Italy, Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands and Belgium, Germany and Turkey were deployed to discourage Russian aggression in Europe.
All B61 bombs also should be seen as "targets for terrorism and theft" the NTI warns.
"A number of former senior U.S. officials and military leaders have made the point that U.S. nuclear weapons based in Europe have virtually no military utility …" Nunn and Moniz write.
"In addition to the complicated procedures for decision making related to nuclear use, any attempt to employ those weapons will be further complicated by the visibility of the many actions required to prepare the aircraft, weapons, and crews for such an attack …
"In short, forward-deployed nuclear weapons in Europe have military liabilities, and they may, in fact, increase the risk of nuclear use in a crisis."
The report, titled "Building a Safe, Secure, and Credible NATO Nuclear Posture," urges the U.S. and NATO leaders to review whether the storage of nukes across Europe still makes sense.