It is usually asssumed, in doomsday scenarios, that it is the President of the United States who will be called upon to push--or not to push--the nuclear button in response to Russian attacks upon NATO or other allies. But does the president in fact have the power to do this without a declaration of war or other congressional approval? In First Use of Nuclear Weapons, ten eminent legal scholars and congressional experts debate this question, focusing on Dr. Jeremy T. Stone's proposal for a congressional leadership committee to approve presidential requests for authority to order such an attack. Encompassing a wide political spectrum of debate, this volume offers important new insights on an issue of the utmost national urgency.