Washington, August 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A senior Pentagon official has warned that a regional conflict involving the use of nuclear weapons could pose a greater danger to global security than a surprise large-scale nuclear attack on the United States, as miscalculation in a fast-moving crisis could trigger uncontrolled escalation.
Elbridge Colby, US Under Secretary of War for Policy, said the greater concern was a conventional regional conflict in which nuclear weapons were used locally and subsequently widened the confrontation.
“What I would fear more is a regional war,” Colby said while addressing the 2026 United States Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium.
He described the potential scenario as a conventional conflict involving the local use of nuclear weapons that could then escalate as the fighting expanded.
Colby warned that decision-making time during such a crisis could be extremely limited. A military move by one side could be misinterpreted as preparations for a much larger attack, prompting the other side to respond on a significantly greater scale.
“That would lead very rapidly to an incredibly pressurised situation that would be almost by definition not in our interests,” he said.
According to Colby, Washington must ensure that the US President has credible and rational military options capable of deterring adversaries without triggering an uncontrollable nuclear escalation.
“It’s not taking away options for the president. It’s adding credible options,” he said.
Colby described the modernisation of the US nuclear deterrent as “the single most important initiative for the American military”. He said Washington needed a survivable and diversified nuclear triad, secure second-strike capabilities and a deterrence strategy integrated with conventional military forces.
He clarified that the administration was not conducting another nuclear posture review, but was instead reviewing nuclear employment guidance while focusing on implementing existing modernisation plans.
“This is so important, we know where we’re going… now it’s about execution,” he said.
Colby also pointed to China’s expanding nuclear arsenal as an unprecedented strategic challenge. Unlike during the Cold War, he said, the United States now faces two potential nuclear peers — China and Russia.
“I remain cautiously optimistic about the ability for us to maintain effective deterrence in the context of three sort of great power nuclear states,” he said, while adding that he was “not sanguine about that”.
He also stressed the importance of diplomacy, saying that efforts to reduce strategic pressures through engagement and respectful dialogue were compatible with maintaining military strength.
The United States maintains a nuclear triad comprising land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.
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