Closing the Strategy-Policy Gap in Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction

Two successive presidents have determined that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) pose the greatest of threats to the American people. Further, the Department of Defense (DoD) has named countering WMD a primary U.S. military mission. Paradoxically, however, DoD has decided that counter-WMD missions will not drive the capacity of U.S. forces, which leads to a potentially critical gap. Relatively little investment has been made in the forces and capabilities needed to eliminate WMD arsenals vulnerable to theft as a result of civil war, state failure, or other pathways to loss or transfer of WMD. A RAND Corporation report addresses the gap between national security strategy and DoD s resource policy relating to force size (capacity) and structure (capabilities) and shows the magnitude of the force structure required to eliminate WMD, including the types and size of U.S. Army forces.