However, an Anglo-French force would not need to match U.S. capabilities. The size of Washington’s arsenal and the diversity of its weapons systems and nuclear options are products of its historical role as the provider of extended deterrence for a range of far-flung treaty allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. This force, as stated U.S. policy attests, is designed not only to deter nuclear weapons use and “emerging non-nuclear threats,” but also to ensure that the United States will not be deterred from intervening conventionally on behalf of its allies worldwide. France and the United Kingdom, on the other hand, could be able to focus their nuclear postures on deterring a narrower range of scenarios within Europe, where the two countries’ vital national security interests are manifest.
A European conventional military buildup of the type currently proposedwould help narrow this range of scenarios significantly and alleviate the credibility problem that besets the U.S. deterrent. A large-scale forward-deployed European conventional force to defend NATO territory, including British and French units, would render any uncertainty regarding conventional intervention moot: The decision to fight at the conventional level would not rest solely with France or the United Kingdom in the same way it currently does with the United States. Yet French and British units would be involved at an early stage, thereby ensuring that Paris and London would be committed.