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The U.S. Nuclear War Plan
A Time for Change
This June 2001 report from NRDC's nuclear program offers an independent assessment of the U.S. nuclear war planning process and the assumptions and logic of the SIOP, or Single Integrated Operational Plan, a Cold War relic that continues to guide U.S. nuclear war plans. Using customized computer software and a vast aggregation of declassified and open-source data to closely approximate the tools that SIOP planners use, NRDC has simulated a U.S. attack against Russian nuclear forces and attacks against Russian cities. The report includes a description of the history, evolution and working process of SIOP; detailed descriptions of the NRDC nuclear war simulation model and target database; and policy recommendations.
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| For printed copies of this report, see our Publications List. | |
OVERVIEW & QUICK REFERENCE
Press release
Summary article
Slideshow
PowerPoint Presentation
REPORT
This report is available in full in pdf format. Clicking on a pdf link will open the file in your browser window. If you plan to save the files on your own computer, we recommend right-clicking instead to save time by saving without first viewing the files. See note re printing.
The Executive Summary is also available as an html webpage.
| Table of Contents | PDF Files |
| Executive Summary | TOC to Ch. 2 - 102k |
| Chapter One: Purpose and Goals | |
| Chapter Two: U.S. Single Integrated Operational Plan and U.S. Nuclear Forces | |
| Chapter Three: The NRDC War Simulation Model | Ch. 3 - .99M |
| Chapter Four: Attacking Russia's Nuclear Forces | Ch. 4 - 3.13M |
| Chapter Five: Attacking Russian Cities: Two Countervalue Scenarios | Ch. 5 - 1.2M |
| Chapter Six: Conclusions and Policy Recommendations | Ch. 6 to End - 280k |
| Appendix A: Functional Classification Codes | |
| Appendix B: Data Fields in the NRDC Russian Target Database | |
| Appendix C: NRDC Russian Target Database Target Classes, Categories and Types | |
| Appendix D: Nuclear Weapons Effects Equations | |
| About the Authors |
Note regarding printing: Chapters 3, 4 and 5 are large files and contain many maps, photos, charts, and other images. Older printers or printers with limited memory may have difficulty printing these files. We recommend printing page-by-page or in batches.
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