The Pentagon is drafting a new nuclear strategy aimed at giving President Donald Trump more options for using shorter-range nuclear weapons in a potential regional conflict with China or Russia.

Nuclear Strategy Shift

The classified effort, led by Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, would put greater emphasis on tactical nuclear weapons — systems intended for use against military targets in a regional conflict — rather than relying primarily on long-range strategic forces.

The strategy is designed for scenarios in which China or Russia attacks a U.S. ally and Washington must determine how to respond without immediately escalating to a large-scale strategic nuclear exchange.

According to a senior War Department official, the strategy would ‘expand the President’s option space by providing him with realistic and credible options and therefore strengthen deterrence.’

Global Implications

The reported shift comes as the United States confronts two nuclear-armed adversaries with increasingly capable arsenals. Russia retains a large stockpile of theater nuclear weapons and has repeatedly invoked its nuclear capabilities during the war in Ukraine. China, meanwhile, is rapidly expanding and modernizing its nuclear forces, creating what U.S. military officials increasingly describe as a two-peer nuclear challenge.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.