ABSTRACT
Nuclear strategy is undergoing historic review as the Atlantic Alliance repostures its deterrent forces for long-term security rather than the steady competition that was part of the Cold War. With the demise of the Soviet Union, the role of nuclear deterrence in general and America's extended nuclear deterrence in particular have been called into question, no more so than in Western Europe, over which the United States (US) nuclear umbrella was for so many years held. The future of America's extended nuclear deterrent will depend on whether and how the Alliance and the individual countries of Western Europe can make the transition from the Cold War focus on containment to a more long-term focus on new security objectives. The French did not create their independent, autonomous nuclear deterrent capability to augment the North Atlantic Treaty Organization nuclear arsenal, but to challenge the very concept of a US nuclear umbrella provided to the Alliance.
