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The Trump Doctrine on Nuclear Nonproliferation Is Born

(Washington Post) Matthew Kroenig - The main lessons from this week are that countries that build the bomb risk getting bombed themselves. Pursuing nuclear arms is not a path to security, but to insecurity. By striking Iran's nuclear facilities on Saturday night, President Trump did not just deal a blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions. He also established an important new precedent. By demonstrating that the U.S. is willing to use military force to stop the spread of the bomb, he made it much less likely that any other country will follow Iran's path and build an illegal nuclear program. Until last week, the U.S. had never launched military strikes on the nuclear facilities of a country with which it was not at war. By bombing Iran, the U.S. has reset expectations. If the U.S. had simply stood by and watched Iran cross the nuclear threshold, future American threats would have been perceived as a mere bluff that can safely be ignored. Iran spent four decades and an estimated $500 billion on its nuclear program, only to have its nuclear facilities reduced to rubble. What other leader in their right mind will want to sign up for that deal? This new reality will strengthen global nonproliferation efforts and make the world a safer place. The writer is vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
2025-06-26 00:00:00
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