Home › Ploughshares Blog

arms control

Arms control and the Future of US-Russia Relations
On the radar: After the reset; Senate passes NDAA; Iran dates; P5+1 in January; and Detecting nuclear blasts with radio telescopes. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted on December 5, 2012
Obama’s Arms Control Goals Likely to Fall Short
President Obama’s administration portrayed the 2010 nuclear arms reduction treaty—which provides modest cuts to US and Russian strategic arsenals—as a  means to “prime the pump” to achieve deeper and more comprehensive cuts down the road. But after enduring a grueling fight with Senate Republicans to ratify the treaty, the administration decided to table new talks with Russia until after the 2012 presidential elections, when the new political environment would make an agreement easier to achieve. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by admin on November 20, 2012
arms control, Nuclear Weapons, Partners, Russia
Nuclear Priorities for President Obama’s 2nd Term
  On the radar: Dealing with Iran; Reductions with Russia; NIF minus the “I”; slight SM-3 delay; Jin-class 2 years from deploying warheads; and Flying through a mushroom cloud.   Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted on November 8, 2012
Arms Control Should be a Priority for Next Administration
  On the radar: Pifer and O’Hanlon on arms control; Avoiding a repeat of the Iraq debacle; Ohio-class replacement; D’Agostino and Albright on NIF; McNamara on abolishing nuclear weapons; CMRR reprogramming stalled; and Strengthening India-Pakistan trade.   Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted on October 19, 2012
Russia Ready to Let Nunn-Lugar Lapse
  On the radar: Russian statement; Lugar view; Nunn outlook; the Nukes in Cuba we didn’t know about; RFK papers; No realistic “surgical strike” option; Beyond treaties; Alexander on UPF; and Irony in the RoK missile deal.   Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted on October 11, 2012
Nukes and the RNC Foreign Policy Platform
On the radar: Draft nuclear platform; No breakthrough with IAEA talks; Putin boilerplate on arms control; Clinton vs. Bush on NMD; AQ Khan throws party; Iran glossary; and How missile tests helped create the internet.   Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted on August 27, 2012
Debating Iran, Nukes, and Stability
On the radar: Kahl and Waltz square off; Pickering on US-Russia Engagement; Iran looms large in Israeli politics; Radar into Qatar; Dropping “Precision” from PTSS; 8 Senators who want to spend more on nukes; U.S. schedules minesweeping exercise; and The five men who agreed to stand directly under a nuclear bomb.   Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted on July 18, 2012
Lessons from Fukushima
Anniversaries have a way of generating reflection and re-assessment, and that is a good thing. But next week’s anniversary of the Fukushima catastrophe risks missing a huge piece of the story – that ALL things nuclear are inherently risky and that our assumptions about how we can control them need to be rethought. Read more »
3 Comments
Posted by Paul Carroll on March 9, 2012
arms control, disarmament, Japan, fukushima, nuclear energy plants, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Nuclear technology, Nuclear Weapons
A Tale of Two Victories: New START and DADT
The passage of major legislation during a lame duck session of Congress is a rare and interesting phenomenon. In the past year, it’s happened twice. In both instances, philanthropy played a vital role in pushing through victories on controversial, long-stalled policy issues. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by Samara Dun on October 20, 2011
arms control, Don't ask, don't tell, new start, U.S. military, Ploughshares Fund, United States
Putin’s Return to the Russian Presidency and U.S.-Russian Arms Control
The following is a guest post by Steven Pifer.  In a speech to the United Russia party on Saturday, President Dmitri Medvedev announced his intention to step aside so that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin can return to the presidency next spring. The Russians still have an election to hold in March, but one can predict the outcome with assurance. While his ratings have declined since his first two terms as president, Putin remains the most popular politician in Russia. The state’s bureaucratic and financial resources will mobilize to support his candidacy, and no serious opposition candidate has emerged. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by admin on September 29, 2011
arms control, Diplomacy, Brookings, Elections, Medvedyev, Putin, Russia, Steve Pifer, United States