On September 22, Scowcroft Center acting director Matthew Kroenig was quoted in a Washington Post article on how the Biden administration should respond to a possible nuclear use by Putin. The article highlighted Kroenig’s recommendation that the United States conduct limited conventional strikes on any Russian assets in Ukraine that participated in conducting the nuclear attack. The article drew on Kroenig’s recently published “Memo to the President.”
If it’s Russian forces in Ukraine that launched the nuclear attack, the United States could strike directly against those forces…It would be calibrated to send a message that this is not a major war coming, this is a limited strike. If you are Putin, what do you do in response? I don’t think you immediately say let’s launch all the nukes at the United States.
Forward Defense, housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, generates ideas and connects stakeholders in the defense ecosystem to promote an enduring military advantage for the United States, its allies, and partners. Our work identifies the defense strategies, capabilities, and resources the United States needs to deter and, if necessary, prevail in future conflict.