and start. it provides a road map for president obama's agenda for limiting nuclear risk to the united states, our allies and partners in the international community. the review describes how the united states will reduce the numbers of nuclear-weapons with a long-term goal of the nuclear- free world. driven by the changing nature of the security environment, the npr focuses on five key objectives -- preventing nuclear proliferation and terrorism, second reducing the role of nuclear weapons in the u.s. national security strategy, third, maintaining strategic deterrence and security at reduced nuclear force levels, fourth, strengthening regional deterrence and reassuring your a -- reassuring u.s. allies and partners. finally, sustaining a safe, secure, an effective nuclear arsenal. . ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

>> based&sj previously tested designs and will not support new

military missions or provide for new military capabilities. we will study options for ensuring the safety, security, and reliability of nuclear warheads on a case by case basis. any decision to proceed to engineering development, we will give strong preference to options for refurbishment or reduce. replacement of any nuclear components, if necessary, would require specific presidential approval. correspondingly, the united states must make much-needed investments to rebuild our nuclear infrastructure, both facilities and personnel. i've asked for $5 billion to be transferred from the department of defense to the department of energy over the next several years to improve our nuclear infrastructure and support a credible modernization program. there are also areas of continuity in this report. among them, first, the united states will continue to hold accountable any state terrorist

s group that supports or enables terrorists efforts to obtain or use weapons of mass destruction. either by facilitating, financing, or providing safe haven. we will provide the capable ballistic missile on nuclear submarines. we will continue to develop non- nuclear capabilities. finally, the united states will continue abiding by it pledging not to conduct nuclear testing. this npr, while lead from the department of defense, was an interagency effort. want to express my appreciation for the contributions from all the departments, especially the leadership of secretary of state hillary clinton and secretary chu. i would like to thank the men and women of the departments of defense and energy.

important work underwrites the security of the united states, as well as that of our partners and allies. secretary clinton. >> thank you very much, secretary gates. let me begin by thanking you for your leadership in this effort and for the collaboration that persisted throughout. the nuclear posture review represents a milestone in the transformation of our nuclear forces and the way we approach nuclear issues. we are we celebrating our priorities to prevent nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. we are reducing the role and number of weapons in our arsenal, while maintaining a safe, secure, and effective deterrent to protect our nation, allies, and partners. this npr provides a foundation on which we and our allies can build a more secure future. this review is important, not

only for what it says, but also the way in which it was conducted. i believe it is the first unclassified npr in its totality. secretary gates was responsible for making this the most inclusive nuclear posture review in history. admiral mullen, the joint chiefs, have been instrumental in working through a lot of the issues that have been erased. the department of energy has brought its expertise to the table. i'm very proud of the role that the state department played in helping to set the policy. we will be working with our allies and partners to explain it and implement it. it truly was a collaborative effort, in keeping with the agenda and goals set by president obama. consultations that supported this process included more than 30 of our allies.

by providing our non-nuclear allies with the reassurance and security to the policies outlined in this review allow us to continue to be stabilizing role. this npr also makes it clear that we will cooperate with partners to prevent nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. we worked to advance that agenda under president obama's leadership. thursday the president will be back in prague to sign a historic new treaty with russia and next week president obama will host more than 40 heads of states in government to tackle the most dangerous threat we 8sg!jut(u of nuclear terrorism. this nuclear posture review provides the strategic basis for all of these efforts and it demonstrates our commitment to making progress toward disarmament under the nuclear

non-proliferation treaty. we are enforcing our commitment to the npt by stating that the united states will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states that are party to the npt. we believe that this is an important step and will help reinvigorate the global nonproliferation regime, especially as we approach the review conference next month. let me thank secretary gates, secretary chu, and admiral mullen. you'll be hearing from four of the experts who worked on this so hard under secretary tauscher. from the defense department, jim miller. and from the joint chiefs, general cartwright. i want to thank everyone who

worked on this. as secretary gates said, it took a lot of meetings, but we believe this represents the best interest for the united states and our partners and allies around the world. >> let me begin by thanking secretary gates, secretary clinton, and admiral mullen. this was a truly multi agency review that reflected the expertise of the state department, the energy department, and the department of defense. this report reflects the administration's understanding that the effort to reduce nuclear dangers will require an all-out government approach. it also reflects the president's commitment. as the president said in prague, we will sustain a safe, secure and effective nuclear arsenal as long as nuclear weapons exist. this nuclear posture review

reflects the commitment and puts the nation on a path to providing the resources required to make that possible. it defines specific steps to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime. the npr is based on several principles that will guide future u.s. the decisions of stockpile management. first, the united states not conduct nuclear testing and will seek gratification of the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. we will not develop new nuclear weapons. our laboratory directors and a host of other outside technical reviews have been very clear that our life extension programs can maintain the safety, security, and effectiveness of the stockpile without testing. to accomplish that goal, the npr makes it clear the united states will study options in the case by case basis. consistent with congressional

mandated stockpile program. approaches will be considered. refurbishment of existing warheads, reuse of nuclear components, and the replacement of nuclear components. this makes it clear that the will united states only use nuclear components based on previously tested designs, and will not support a new nuclear missions, or provide a new nuclear capabilities. finally, in any decision to proceed to the engineering development for warhead life extension programs, the united states will give strong preference to the options of refurbishment or reuse. this makes it clear that the replacement of nuclear components, as said by secretary gates, will only be undertaken if critical stockpile management program goals cannot otherwise be met, and if specifically authorized by the president is or. the principles that define how we plan to maintain the present

commitment. this npr goes further than that. it provides an outline of the resources we will need to get the job done. the npr calls for the modernization of nuclear weapons infrastructure and the sustainment of the science, technology, an engineering base that is required to support the full range of nuclear missions. this is reflected in the president's budget request, which includes a 13.4% increase in funding. this investment is critical to addressing our aging infrastructure, sustaining our deterrent, and enhancing our efforts against nuclear proliferation and terrorism. it will also allow the united states to reduce many non deployed warheads currently kept as a technical hitch. the npr knows the importance in maintaining the capital, and

proposes building on current efforts. before we can succeed in our mission, we need to be able to recruit and retain the next generations of nuclear security professionals. at the department, our people are the greatest asset. i applaud the team that worked so hard over the last year to complete this review. i look forward to working with secretary gates, secretary clinton, admiral mullen, and the congress to implement this in the coming years. thank you very much. >> thank you for your leadership in this tremendous effort. also, leading it in a way where the process was very collaborative and really a strength of the interagency, which produced a great product. we fully support the findings of this nuclear posture review. we believe it provides us and the field commanders the

opportunity to better shape our nuclear weapons posture, policy, and structure to me to the ever-changing environment. we appreciate the opportunity to inform it and to be informed by it as the process went forward. even while it reduces the role played by nuclear weapons, which i endorse, this nuclear posture review reaffirms our commitment to defend the vital interests of the united states and those of our partners and allies. even while it retains the strategic triad of bombers, submarines, and missiles, the review and further strengthens the united states command and control, works to prevent nuclear terrorism and proliferation, and suggests new dialogues through which to improve transparency.

the review bolsters regional deterrents i feel the new missile defenses, improving counter wmd capabilities, and revitalizing our nuclear support infrastructure. as secretary gates made clear, we must invest more wisely and generously to preserve the life span and the effectiveness of our existing arsenal. we must hold ourselves accountable to unimpeachable high standards of nuclear training, leadership, and management. we must recruit and retain the scientific expertise to advance our technological edge in nuclear weaponry. i'm encouraged to see these requirements promptly addressed in the nuclear posture review. i am also mindful of the challenge. without such improvements, an aging nuclear force supported by a neglected infrastructure only invites any misbehavior and miscalculation. thank you.

>> the review says that it is the administration's goal to create conditions in which the only purpose of nuclear weapons would be to deter nuclear attacks, as opposed to other attacks. what would it take to get to that state? secretary clinton, also, would you comment on the statement made in moscow today that russia would reserve the right to withdraw from the new start treaty if it felt that the u.s. missile defense became a strategic threat to the russian deterrent? will the u.s. have a unilateral statement about the treaty? >> the npr is very explicit in referring to the fundamental role of nuclear weapons being for deterrents. i know there has been a lot of speculation outside the government. there was a lot of discussion

inside the government of how to frame that. whether it would be the sole purpose, whether we would forgo first use, and so on. i think there was agreement within the administration that we did not think we were far enough along the road toward getting control of nuclear weapons around the world to limit ourselves so explicitly. the term fundamental purpose basically made clear, and other language makes clear that this is obviously a weapon of last resort. we're also very explicit about that. i think we recognized that we need to make progress moving in the direction that the president has set. we also recognize the real

world we continue to live in. >> i'm not aware of the statement, but it's no surprise the russians remain concerned about our missile defense program. we have persistently sought to explain to them the purpose for missile defense, the role that we believe it can and should play in preventing proliferation and nuclear terrorism. we have consistently offered the russians the opportunity to cooperate with us. the start treaty is not about missile defense, as you know. it is about cutting the respective sizes of our strategic offensive weapons. we'll continue our conversations with the russians. we have made it clear that we look forward to the ratification of start, and then another round

of discussions with the russians about further reductions in our arsenal. we will also be working with them to try to find common ground around missile defense, which we are committed to pursuing. >> tactical nuclear weapons have not yet been mentioned in your discussion. what does the npr say about tactical nuclear weapons in europe? what will be required of the russians in this process? >> the npr is very explicit that any decision with respect to nato's nuclear capabilities will be handled within nato, according to the consensus principle. as long as they arthere are nucr weapons that threaten nato, nato will need to maintain a nuclear capability. this is one of the issues that will be addressed in the strategic concept that nato is

undertaking. the revision of the strategic concept. i would invite secretary clinton to comment, but basically, the npr draws attention to the number of tactical nuclear weapons. also, to the number of non deployed weapons that we are looking at. these should clearly be part of the arms control agenda as we move forward. >> bob is absolutely right. there's a section in the npr, for those of you who have not had a chance to review it, including a picture of lavrov. [laughter] >> yes, page 19. in the chapter called "strengthening regional deterrents" we make it very clear that any changes in nato's nuclear posture should

only be taken after a thorough review within and a decision by the alliance. those conversations have begun in connection with the new strategic concept that is being worked on. that will hopefully be ready for consensus discussion at the nato conference in lisbon. >> mr. secretary and secretary clinton, about your concerns about iran, and what role those concerns played in formulating this review. thyour current assessment of the time frame, what that really means, and what message you're sending to iran. >> i think that the npr has a very strong message for both iran and north korea. whether it is in declaratory

policy or other elements of the npr, we essentially carve out states like iran and north korea that are not in compliance with npt. basically, all options are on the table when it comes to countries in that category, along with non state actors who might acquire nuclear weapons. if there is a message for iran and north korea here, it is -- if you're going to play by the rules, then we will undertake certain obligations to you. that is covered in the npr. but if you're not going to play by the rules, then all options are on the table in terms of how we deal with it. >> on page 33 of the report -- and it tends to protect u.s. forces or partners or allies

-- translate this to the middle east. does this mean that if iran attacks israel or the gulf states with conventional or nuclear weapons, the u.s. would attack them? >> i'm not going to go down a hypothetical road. >> on the alert status, why does that remain unchanged when so many other things are changing under the npr. can you tell us more about how the presidential decision making process will be changed under the npr? >> i think there are provisions, and the experts can get into this with you. there are some changes that we have made in command and control that tighten things up and also give the president more time for decision. what was the first part of your question? >> on the military alert status. >> we feel like the situation is a satisfactory one at the

current time. we have no armed bombers sitting at the end of runways any longer. as you'll read in the npr, we have our icbms -- they're all targeted right now on the oceans. if god forbid there was an accidental launch, it would today missile into the middle of the ocean, rather than target any country. we've taken a number of steps to ensure that the president has additional time for decision, and that the forces on alert are not subject to some kind of disaster. thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> as our principles indicated, and as advertised to you, we have a number of policy and subject matter experts that are here to address some of your questions in greater detail. the format for this will be that we will start off with a brief presentation by jim miller, the principal deputy under secretary for policy in the defense department. he will share that briefing with general cartwright, the vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. we will in by their colleagues to address any questions that you might have. jim, the floor is yours. >> could we pull up the charts? we will go tthrough these relatively quickly. this is the third comprehensive

review of nuclear posture conducted by the administration. this is the first one to have entirely unclassified taproduct you heard about the collaboration that went on between the departments, and the extensive involvement of the intelligence community. this review the bill on the defense review anti-ballistic defense review. when general cartwright talks about regional security architecture, you will see the linkage. close consultation throughout with congress and allies. something like 80 meetings took place. it started with an assessment of the strategic security environment. it noted that it was substantially changed from the cold war and from prior years.

from the outset, this review focus extensively on the challenges of nuclear proliferation and the possibility of nuclear terrorism. we do see transnational terrorist groups continue to try to seek weapons of mass destruction. and as it was referred to before with respect to iran and north korea, we see states pursuing nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community. also, the continued reinforcement of regional security architecture is to strengthen deterrents. this includes not just the nuclear umbrella, but also considering how to strengthen our missile defenses, and combat team weapons of mass destruction -- combat weapons of mass destruction. third, understanding that with the u.s. and russia continue to

of 90% of the nuclear weapons in the world, reinforcement with russia is essential. and with china, we need to begin discussions on strategic stability and think about the future. new start is the next step in this effort. general cartwright will talk about that more. next chart. this goes through the list of the five different areas of the npr. we will say a few words about each of them very quickly. the first priority and the first topic is preventing nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation. this npr lays out steps as we look forward to enforcing compliance. the npt review conference is the next step. we also looked at what type of

budgetary steps' were appropriate and necessary. we have shown one of the examples on the chart. that is, increasing non- proliferation programs. other agencies have also increased their funding. the president committed to a global lockdown, to secure all the hon. vuvulnerable nuclear materials. we will see more on that next week. this is an area where it overlapped with the defense review. part of this looked at what type of investments are needed to have better capabilities to detect, and if necessary, to interdict smuggled material. we've increased investment in those areas as well. as we reported, we will also be standing the joint task force for wmd elimination. reaffirming a commitment to fulf