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Margaret Swink's Blog Posts

Margaret Swink serves as Ploughshares Fund’s Communications Director. With a broad background in both international relations and communications, Margaret strives to make security issues understandable and compelling to both policy makers and informed citizens.
If Boston had been nuclear
When I first heard of the Boston bombings, my immediate reaction was gratitude that the bombs weren't radioactive. Working at Ploughshares Fund, it's hard not to be aware of the very real possibility that radioactive materials could easily be part of any terrorist attack on the U.S. – domestic or foreign – and to think of how much worse that would be than the already horrible consequences of the type of IEDs used at Boston's marathon.  Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on May 2, 2013
Boston, Dirty Bomb, Weapon of mass destruction, United States
Baby Steps in Baghdad - Video
Everyone’s talking about the negotiations in Baghdad. After months of hostile rhetoric and rising tensions, Iran is coming to the table with the international community to try and find a resolution to the impasse over its nuclear program. Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on May 23, 2012
Al Monitor, Baghdad, International Negotiations, Laura Rozen, Nuclear Weapons, P5+1, Iran, Ploughshares Fund
When Nuclear Spending Comes at the Expense of the Troops
Supporting the troops is an important value for many Americans. Unfortunately, both soldiers and veterans often get short shrift when it comes to actually allocating budgets. Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on May 10, 2012
Board of Directors, CMRR, Got Your Six, House Armed Services Committee, Los Alamos, Michael Douglas, Military, Nuclear Budget, veterans, United States
Need a Gift for Mother’s Day? Send a World Without Nuclear Weapons - Video
Is Mother’s Day any one’s favorite holiday? We all love our mothers, but sometimes the pressure to find the right gift to express that love can be intense. To most of us, she’s one of the most important people in our lives, which is why it’s perhaps more difficult to find a gift that seems as important as she is. But what if Mother’s Day meant something more than commericialism? What if Mother’s Day was about peace? Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on April 10, 2012
Women's Security Network, Nuclear disarmament, Civil War, International relations, International security, Julia Ward Howe, Mother's Day, Partners, peace, Ploughshares Fund
Building Global Security, One Summit at a Time
Nuclear terrorism ranks at the top of many national security experts lists of possible nightmares. It’s hard to overstate the damage that could be caused by even a small nuclear weapon in one of the world’s major population centers. But just as terrorism has become a global phenomenon, efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism has to be a global effort. Thankfully, it is. Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on March 22, 2012
Japan, North Korea, Arms Control Association, food aid, Prague Agenda, South Korea, Obama
Negotiations Back in the Picture
This weekend saw an encouraging resurgence of the word 'negotiations' in the conversation around Iran's nuclear program. After several weeks where talk of military conflict has dominated the discussion, it is a welcome change.  Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on January 24, 2012
NPT, David Ignatius, Media, negotiations, Public Editor, Stuart E. Eizenstat, the Washington Post, Iran
Top 10 nuclear weapons stories of 2011
It's been a memorable year in nuclear policy. From Fukushima to Iran, the world was reminded just how dangerous nuclear technology can be. But hope continues to remain amidst the challenges. As the year draws to a close, here's a look back at some of the hottest nuclear stories of 2011. Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on December 28, 2011
Japan, North Korea, Global Zero, Mikhail Gorbachev, news, Pakistan, Iran, United States
A Promise Kept, A New Beginning
As a candidate, Barack Obama distinguished himself by his anti-war stance. It was a popular move in a nation that was fatigued by a multi-year conflict with no clear end in sight. Today, President Obama has annouced the end to the war he campaigned against, keeping a major promise and opening up a new opportunity for new beginnings in both nations.  Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on October 21, 2011
Middle East, Conflict, Iraq, Joe Cirincione, Joel Rubin, U.S. Foreign Policy, Obama
A Small, but Essential Victory
A few weeks ago, Paul Carroll wrote an op-ed in The Hill, urging approval of the pending appointment of Sung Kim as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea.  Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on October 18, 2011
Diplomacy, North Korea, Paul Carroll, South Korea
Cutting Where It Counts
 In January, then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned us that government’s fiscal management might at some point become one of the nation’s largest threats to national security: Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on August 9, 2011
Brown Journal of World Affairs, cuts, Department of Defense, Financial Times, Joe Cirincione, Nuclear Weapons, Robert Gates, United States