Within an unstable international environment and an impredictable future, nuclear weapons will continue to play a major role in defense policies. Indeed, since disarmament currently seems an unlikely objective, nuclear weapons remain as a security guarantee. Within this context, talk of the global abolition of nuclear weapons remains essentially rhetorical and the supposed link between disarmament and non-proliferation is a tenuous one. The foremost purpose of both disarmament and nuclear deterrence must be security.