'Breathtaking' Documentary: The Crisis Of America's Strategic Deterrence

Not long ago, the United States was an uncontested superpower. Nor was it that long ago that the United States fielded a military that was qualitatively unrivaled, and perhaps the most powerful and most advanced military in history. But that supremacy may be in danger unless the U.S. initiates drastic reforms. 

To spread awareness of the scope of the challenge we face, The Heritage Foundation has just released a new short documentary, "Breathtaking: China's Race to Nuclear Dominance."

The film details the dramatic nuclear weapons buildup of China (view film at bottom of article)

A peer adversary, China is guided by authoritarian principles antithetical to America's commitment to safety, security, and prosperity. Today, China maintains not only the world's largest navy, but also engages in aggressive maritime behavior against its regional democratic neighbors, namely the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam--all American allies or partners. 

It explicitly threatens the security of Taiwan, a liberal democracy that has long supported the U.S.-led free and open world order. And it continues to modernize and militarize at a pace unseen since the height of the Cold War.  

America's role as the preeminent global superpower is increasingly challenged, and even the U.S. military now faces serious challengers. In the strategic arena, the United States may be on a path to becoming a second, or even third-tier nuclear power.  

Washington ignores these facts at its peril. The public needs to understand what is at stake: the U.S.' ability to deter attacks, safeguard American interests, and protect our allies. 

For these very reasons, The Heritage Foundation produced "Breathtaking," featuring elected officials, former senior policymakers, and senior military commanders explaining the crisis of America's strategic deterrence in clear, accessible terms for all viewers to understand. 

The 14-minute film begins by setting the stage. How did the United States get to this point? How did an authoritarian regime like China gain such power? 

The United States was complacent, as Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., reminds us. After the Cold War, Americans fell for the fallacy that America had contained Russia and liberal democracy would inevitably prevail across the globe. Not so. 

Rebeccah Heinrichs, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, explains that the fear of nuclear weapons soon turned to the fear of terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11. And as American focus shifted to extremist groups, the United States ignored any notion of another cold war with a nuclear-armed, revisionist authoritarian state. 

Here and now, the United States is facing the consequences of two decades of complacency and misdirected focus. 

A series of unfortunate and miscalculated decisions by the federal government has resulted in the mass dismantlement of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, which today is roughly 85% less than what we fielded at the height of the Cold War. Worse, our newest warhead in the remaining arsenal is more than 35 years old.  

Our nuclear forces were removed from South Korea in 1991 and the Obama administration retired our Pacific theater submarine-launched nuclear Tomahawk missile. For three and half decades, we have underinvested in our nuclear program and thus depleted the very foundation of our national security. 

The Chinese race to nuclear dominance is indeed breathtaking. As Adm. Charles Richard, former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, explains in the documentary, no nation in recent history has expanded its strategic nuclear capabilities as rapidly as China is doing now.  

Over the last five years, China has tripled its nuclear arsenal, and it is expected to field over 1,000 warheads by 2030, says Robert Joseph, former undersecretary of state. And beyond the disparity in arsenal size is a disparity in arsenal diversity, as Robert Peters, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, explains in the film. 

Strategic nuclear weapons are the massive, city-destroying weapons that people often think of. Tactical weapons, on the other hand, have less explosive power and are designed to be used on smaller targets such as a single aircraft carrier or military base. 

Essentially, tactical weapons give nations the options to scale attacks--in other words, they afford the ability to respond to limited strikes with low-yield nuclear weapons that are comparable, and far less destructive. 

China has built an arsenal that includes modern tactical nuclear weapons. Of the couple hundred the United States maintains, most are deployed in Europe and the rest are kept across the United States. This means that we have limited options with no in-theater, tactical weapons to combat an increasingly strong China.  

Meanwhile, the United States--despite being in year 15 of our nuclear modernization program--has yet to build a single new nuclear warhead. 

And all the while China refuses to engage in any kind of arms control or even risk reduction talks with the United States. 

Should a protracted conflict break out between the United States and China, the U.S. military will be at a gross nuclear disadvantage. 

That is, unless the United States moves quickly to: 

Modernize the nuclear arsenal. This, in turn, will require a reformed and equipped defense industrial base. 

Diversify the existing arsenal and focus on building tactical nuclear weapons to be deployed in the Western Pacific theater. 

Ensure homeland security with the development of air and missile defense through an Iron Dome for America. 

Fischer emphasizes that the foremost responsibility of the federal government is national security. If Washington cannot protect American lives from foreign threats, nothing else matters. 

This is precisely the compelling case made in "Breathtaking." This documentary is not meant to be fearmongering or flashy. Instead, it's intended as a sober strategic analysis. "Breathtaking" delivers an earnest, well-informed warning about the extent of our nuclear decline and makes clear to the American people and their elected leaders what must be done to reverse it. 

With urgency and tact, the United States can still build the arsenal it needs to defend American interests and ensure the security, peace, and prosperity the American people deserve.

Watch the film here: