The Infuriating Fiction of NATO "Nuclear-Free" Nations

US nuclear weapons stored at a Dutch Air Force base. These bombs are intended to be delivered by the Netherlands Air Force in the event of a nuclear war. Photo: US Air Force., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons I encounter these people on the internet boasting that their country's military and foreign policy are morally superior to the United States and other nuclear powers because they have no nuclear arsenal. The usual offender is German, but are sometimes from other NATO countries. This is a convenient fiction. German Air Force Büchel Air Base, where the United States keeps an estimated 20 B61 nuclear bombs for delivery by German bombers in the event of nuclear war. Source: Stahlkocher, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons While it is true that Germany, for instance, does not possess nuclear weapons, as a member of NATO and a participant in the nuclear sharing agreement between countries, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), is capable of delivering nuclear weapons in the event of