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Power Problems • April 15, 2025 

# Why America Needs to Change Its Nuclear Weapons Posture 

The Stimson Center’s Christopher Preble and Geoff Wilson argue that nuclear weapons modernization programs are wasteful boondoggles that undermine deterrence and stability while serving as a give-away to parochial interests. They discuss a “deterrence first” posture on nuclear weapons, perverse incentives in the bureaucracy, profligate waste and inefficiency, the risks of nuclear escalation, the consequences of eroding nuclear deterrence, and threat inflation on China, among other issues.

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

##### Featuring 

[![Media Name: preble.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/preble.jpg?itok=2y52zSuL)](/people/christopher-preble) 

##### [Christopher A. Preble](/people/christopher-preble)

Former Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies; Senior Fellow, Stimson Center 

[ 

](https://twitter.com/capreble) 

![Geoff Wilson](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-04/geoff-wilson%20Cropped.jpg?itok=PVQXSWEg) 

##### Geoff Wilson 

Distinguished Fellow, Stimson Center

![John Glaser](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/John%20Glaser.jpg?itok=-uvxR8zG) 

##### John Glaser 

Host, Power Problems Podcast

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](https://twitter.com/jwcglaser)