Speaking at the Project Atom 2024 event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Nov. 20, Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan, the spokesman for the Pentagon’s Strategic Command, was asked about a nuclear exchange with Russia. He responded: “If we have to have an exchange then we want to do it in terms that are most acceptable to the United States,” meaning the U.S. would still have enough nuclear weapons left over to have the U.S. “continue leading globally.”
“We must have reserve capacity. You wouldn’t use up all your resources to win because then you’d have nothing left to deter future threats,” said Admiral Buchanan, whose formal title is Director, Plans and Policy, J5, U.S. Strategic Command.
