Europe Needs a Better Nuclear Deterrent Against Putin
Fears of Russia plus lingering doubts about the US have dredged up old ideas about a European nuclear bomb.
Europe in the middle.
Photographer: John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin has catapulted a European debate long relegated to footnotes right into the headlines. Does “Europe” need its own nuclear arsenal to deter a potential Russian strike, now or in future?
During most of the Cold War and the years since, that question seemed settled. The European NATO members are meant to shelter under America’s nuclear “umbrella.” As part of the transatlantic alliance’s “nuclear sharing,” five partner countries — Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Turkey — host an estimated 100 American nukes on their soil. To retaliate against a Russian strike, the allies would be able to drop these US bombs from their own planes.