[T]he United States is now prepared to strengthen its long-standing "negative security assurance" by declaring that the United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states that are part to the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] and in compliance with their nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
Seriously. This has people on FOXNews and the rest of the right-wing screechosphere declaring that the US is preparing to surrender Cleveland if we are threatened by Venezuela. Or something. Or that, by declaring a "no first use" against non-nuclear states we are somehow signaling we won't ever use nuclear weapons. Or something. To be honest, trying to figure out what they're saying as the spittle flies from their mouths is really difficult. All the document declares is this - if the US finds itself (as it is now) in a conflict with a non-nuclear adversary, we won't use nuclear weapons.
Nothing wrong with that at all.
The reaction from the right, in all honesty, is neither surprising nor even, by a conventional understanding of the word, "news". Since the darkest days of the Cold War, the right has insisted that liberals are soft on military policy, are quite willing to trade our freedoms and sovereignty for not being attacked by nuclear weapons, and that by pledging "no first use" (in this case, only under certain conditions), we are "signaling" to all sorts of potential foes our willingness to see mushroom clouds over Phoenix.
Since none of this is true, and the comments from right-wing critics wholly unrelated to the facts of the matter, rather than sit around and argue with them, it would be far easier to just take the position I am - either deal with the policy as outlined in the NPR or don't be taken seriously.
