Aimed at preserving the Western World's way of life in an uncertain time.
Clearly outlining nuclear 1st strikes as not only viable, but plausible:
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. . .technology could produce options that go beyond the traditional role of nuclear weapons in preventing a nuclear armed opponent from using nuclear weapons. In sum, nuclear weapons remain indispensable. . .
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So essentially, we're going to use nuclear weapons as a deterrent for countries that do not share our values.
A summary of challenges (facing Western allies) outlined in the report:
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• Demography. Population growth and change across the globe will swiftly change the world we knew. The challenge this poses for welfare, good governance and energy security (among other things) is vast.
• Climate change. This greatly threatens physical certainty, and is leading to a whole new type of politics – one predicated, perhaps more than ever, on our collective future.
• Energy security continues to absorb us. The supply and demand of individual nations and the weakening of the international market infrastructure for energy distribution make the situation more precarious than ever.
• There is also the more philosophic problem of the rise of the irrational – the discounting of the rational. Though seemingly abstract, this problem is demonstrated in deeply practical ways. [These include] the decline of respect for logical argument and evidence, a drift away from science in a civilization that is deeply technological. The ultimate example is the rise of religious fundamentalism, which, as political fanaticism, presents itself as the only source of certainty.
• The weakening of the nation state. This coincides with the weakening of world institutions, including the United Nations and regional organizations such as the European Union, NATO and others.
• The dark side of globalization ... These include internationalized terrorism, organized crime and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but also asymmetric threats from proxy actors or the abuse of financial and energy leverage. (Ibid)
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Nothing earth shattering, but it's interesting to listen to NATO member countries preach the importance of a nuclear free world with a strategy like this.
Would our governments go as far as to trigger a middle eastern nuclear holocaust to defend our way of life? Is it a useless question as there would not be any life in a post nuclear war world?
The report is available on the CSIS Website