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The last time the United States declared its nuclear weapons policy, in 2010, it required a year of deliberation and a fussed-over 64-page report to set it out. President-elect Donald J. Trump appears to have done so in only 140 characters, forcing analysts and foreign states to divine United States policy from a few brief words.

Whether Mr. Trump knows it or not, nuclear weapons policy has a meticulous language all its own, meant to signal clearly to allies and adversaries. But his words fall outside that language, creating several possible interpretations with a wide range of meanings and ramifications for the world — as well as an uncertainty that is itself destabilizing, analysts warn.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...ear-tweet.html