Bush Briefed on Nuclear Arms, Strategy

WASHINGTON —  President Bush met with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and senior military leaders at the Pentagon on Wednesday for a briefing on U.S. nuclear forces in preparation for decisions on reducing the number of nuclear weapons, officials said.

The officials, who discussed the meeting on condition of anonymity, said it was held to inform the president of nuclear strategy details rather than to seek his approval for near-term weapon cuts.

The meeting in Rumsfeld’s office lasted about 90 minutes, according to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. He declined to provide other details beyond saying that Bush was briefed on Rumsfeld’s reviews of U.S. defense strategy and force restructuring.

Other officials said Bush received a detailed briefing from Adm. Richard W. Mies, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, which is responsible for all U.S. strategic nuclear forces. The briefing was designed to explain the many complexities of U.S. nuclear forces.

Also attending the briefing were Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.