(Reuters) - The Obama administration unveiled a new policy on Tuesday restricting U.S. use of nuclear weapons but sent a stern message to nuclear-defiant Iran and North Korea that they remain potential targets
The announcement, calling for reduced U.S. reliance on its nuclear deterrent, could build momentum before Obama signs a landmark arms control treaty with Russia in Prague on Thursday and hosts a nuclear security summit in Washington next week.
But Obama's revamped strategy is likely to draw criticism from conservatives who say his approach could compromise U.S. national security and disappoint liberals who wanted the president to go further on arms control.
Under the revamped policy, the United States for the first time is forswearing use of atomic weapons against non-nuclear countries, a break with a Bush-era threat of nuclear retaliation in the event of a biological or chemical attack.
But the new strategy comes with a major condition that the countries will be spared a U.S. nuclear response only if they are in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That loophole means Iran and North Korea would not be protected.
"We agree that we've got a very hard problem in front of us -- the fact that states like North Korea and Iran ... are interested in these capabilities and the means to deliver them," a senior U.S. defense official said.
"And we have of course the continuing evidence that al Qaeda and others are interested in acquiring weapons of mass destruction".
THREAT OF NUCLEAR ATTACK
The Nuclear Posture Review, as the policy document is known, stated: "The threat of global nuclear war has become remote, but the risk of nuclear attack has increased."
The NPR is required by Congress from every U.S. administration but Obama set expectations high after he vowed to end "Cold War thinking" and won the Nobel Peace Prize in part for his vision of a nuclear-free world.
Seeking to set an example, the Obama administration said the United States would consider use of nuclear weapons only in "extreme circumstances" and committed to not developing any new nuclear warheads.
But it said that while reducing the role of nuclear weapons in national security, the United States would strengthen its conventional arsenal.
"We have other means of deterrence that we can increase our reliance on, such as missile defenses, such as non-nuclear strike capabilities," a senior U.S. defense official said.
The administration also pledged to pursue further arms control with Russia beyond the new START pact Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will sign this week promising to slash nuclear arsenals by a third.
"The United States will pursue high-level, bilateral dialogues on strategic stability with both Russia and China which are aimed at fostering more stable, resilient, and transparent strategic relationships," it said.
But the Obama administration said the lack of transparency surrounding China's nuclear programs raises questions about the country's future strategic intentions.
"China's nuclear arsenal remains much smaller than the arsenals of Russia and the United States," the document said.
"But the lack of transparency surrounding its nuclear programs -- their pace and scope, as well as the strategy and doctrine that guides them -- raises questions about China's future strategic intentions".
Obama now faces the challenge of lending credibility to his arms control push while not alarming allies under the U.S. defense umbrella or limiting room to maneuver in dealing with emerging nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea.
The review is a test of Obama's effort to make controlling nuclear arms worldwide a signature foreign policy initiative. It is also important because it will affect defense budgets and weapons deployment and retirement for years to come.
Additional reporting by Caren Bohan and Tabassum Zakaria; editing by Deborah Charles and David Storey
Reuters
