On Strengthening and Expanding the US Nuclear Umbrella to Dissuade Nuclear Proliferation

Security Guarantees and Allied Nuclear Proliferation

“…A number of US allies or friendly states appear to be opening the door to potential future pursuit of nuclear weapons. For example, Egypt's and Saudi Arabia’s decisions to bolster their civil nuclear infrastructures are widely viewed as at least partly motivated by a desire to hedge their bets against Iran (Bleek 2010; Kahl, Dalton, and Irvine 2013). This concern with reassuring friendly states in order to prevent proliferation has developed into a major focus of the US strategic community ( Nuclear Posture Review Report 2010) and has led analysts to propose ways of increasing the credibility of extended deterrence commitments (Utgoff and Adesnik 2008; Murdock 2009).…”