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Ben Loehrke's Blog Posts

Ben serves as Ploughshares Fund's Senior Policy Analyst. With a background in nuclear and international security policy, his areas of expertise include U.S.-Russia relations, nonstrategic nuclear weapons and U.S. policy towards Iran.
Sinking the Navy with Excessive Nuclear Requirements
In tight budget times, the U.S. Navy cannot afford to waste funds on excessive capabilities for outdated Cold War weapons. Yet that is what some in Congress are attempting to do by blocking retirement of excess nuclear-armed submarines. As part of the Navy’s plan to replace its fleet nuclear-armed submarines, the Navy expects the number of subs in service to dip from 12 to 10 for much of the 2030s – a budget and strategy plan that the Navy believes is manageable. Read more »
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Posted by Ben Loehrke on May 14, 2012
Arms Control Association, budget, House, Navy, NDAA, Nuclear Budget, Spending, SSBN(X), Submarine, Submarines, United States Navy, Warheads
Leverage with Iran, Benchmarks for Talks
On the radar: North Korea’s rocket record worsens to 0-4; Using leverage in Istanbul; Salehi on principles for talks; Signs of progress; Rocket science is hard; How to undercut our diplomats; After Chicago; the Missile defense debate; Defining suspension; the Anti-arms control message; and Schmidt & Nunn on zero. Read more »
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Posted on April 13, 2012
Priorities for Iran Talks
On the radar: Focus on the achievable; 21st century nuclear strategy; Zakaria on a compromise; The North’s ICBM development, countermeasures; Nasr, Takeyh, Perkovich and Sadjadpour; Seoul patchwork; Nuclear challenges, election year; Beware faulty intelligence; and Headline of the week. Read more »
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Posted on April 12, 2012
Narrow Window, Improved Potential for Diplomatic Solution
On the radar: Obama: window is shrinking; Conditions for Iran diplomacy improve; Hadley against military strikes; Surface fleet crowded out; Military advice last; Questions on Parchin; Deterrence and its supporters; GAO on fissile security; Germany & NATO posture; and If DC were nuked. Read more »
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Posted on March 15, 2012
The Steady Decline of Global Nuclear Stockpiles
Russia got rid of an estimated 1,000 nuclear warheads last year, according to a new report from Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris of the Federation of American Scientists, a Ploughshares Fund grantee. That brings the estimated number of nuclear warheads in the world down below 20,000 for the first time since 1959. Russia had already retired these warheads and slated them for dismantlement, so the strategic calculus has not changed. However, it is a strong data point showing the steep downward trend of global nuclear arsenals. Read more »
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Posted by Ben Loehrke on March 14, 2012
Dismantlement, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Zero, Reductions, Russia, United States
When the Nuclear Budget Binge Ended
Washington is slowly moving toward tightening budgets and being smarter with its security dollars. The President’s budget request, released yesterday, showed that spending smarter means trimming excessive spending on Cold War-era nuclear weapons systems. Read more »
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Posted by Ben Loehrke on February 14, 2012
budget, CMRR, cuts, Debt, Nuclear Budget, Policy Guidance, President Obama, SSBNX, Triad
Communicating with Iran
On the radar: Avoiding miscalculation; the Omani intermediary; Essentials of nuclear intel largely unchanged; Transparency deficit on Plutonium lab management; Holland 2014; The existing credible military threat; IAEA plans next trip; Campbell on N. Korea diplomacy; Iran & Al Qaeda; and Crazy talk on Fukushima. Read more »
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Posted on February 1, 2012
New Strategy Recognizes Nuclear Realities
Today, standing with his top military officials, President Obama rolled out new guidance that realigns the Pentagon toward today’s strategic realities. It might not seem like it from the report’s stoic language, but this is part of a set of once-in-a-generation decisions that could reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Read more »
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Posted by Ben Loehrke on January 5, 2012
modernization, Barack Obama, Guidance, Leon Panetta, Nuclear Budget, Nuclear Posture, Nuclear Weapons, Pentagon, strategy
Blunt Sanctions on Iran Move Forward
On the radar: CBI Sanctions and their risks; Schwartz checks facts; A call for budget transparency; New START data; Behind the UK embassy attack; McFaul blocked once more; Russian elections; Sigal on North Korea; and NASA and Livermore pursue the Michael Bay option. Read more »
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Posted on December 2, 2011
Cutting the Nuclear Budget Burden
Nuclear weapons programs once enjoyed a relative sanctuary from budget pressures. But things have changed. Policymakers are looking to cut programs that do not advance our national security. At $700 billion over ten years, the nuclear budget has become a prime target for cutting waste and excess. Read more »
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Posted by Ben Loehrke on September 28, 2011
Gen. James Cartwright, Nuclear Budget, Nuclear Triad, Pentagon, Project On Government Oversight, Rep. Ed. Markey, Super Committee