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Obama's Turn on Nuclear Weapons
When U.S. President Barack Obama took to the podium during a rare visit to the Pentagon early last month, he announced a new strategy for the country's military posture abroad. The United States would shift from being able to fight two major wars simultaneously to increasing its focus on Asia. But the president also explained that reductions in the U.S. nuclear arsenal would be key to future defense: "We will continue to get rid of outdated Cold War-era systems," he said, "so that we can invest in the capabilities we need for the future." Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on February 2, 2012
Department of Defense, Joe Cirincione, new start, Nuclear Budget, Nuclear Policy Guidance, Obama
More Light on Nuclear Budget Numbers
This week, a lively debate has broken out around how much our nation actually spends on maintaining our nation's nuclear arsenal. It's a refreshing level of scrutiny on a pocket of  spending that has been largely unaccountable.  Read more »
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Posted by admin on December 1, 2011
Department of Defense, Eric Sapp, Government Accountability Office, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Nuclear Budget, Stephen Schwartz, the Washington Post
A Credible Number, A Needed Debate
There is no official number that tells American citizens how much our government is spending on nuclear weapons. In fact, we are not even precisely sure how many nuclear weapons we have. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on November 30, 2011
Nuclear Posture Review, Department of Defense, F-35, Joe Cirincione, Nuclear Budget, SSBNX
Nuclear budget cuts gaining momentum
Just months ago, nuclear weapons spending was considered untouchable. Now, rumblings from within the Pentagon indicate that the nuclear budget may be up next in the search for savings. When the Pentagon starts talking cuts, you know things are serious. Read more »
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Posted by Mary Kaszynski on November 17, 2011
NATO, Carnegie Endowment, Defense Secretary, Department of Defense, Dyad, House Armed Services Committee, James Cartwright, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Nuclear Budget, Robert Gates, Triad
The Budget Crisis Offers Opportunity To Bend The Arc Of Nuclear Policy
The U.S. government spends $54 billion a year on nuclear weapons and related programs. Despite the deep fiscal crisis, these budgets are about to go up — to a whopping $700 billion over the next 10 years. It is not at all clear why. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on August 11, 2011
Congress, Department of Defense, Hiroshima, Joe Cirincione, Larry Korb, Nuclear Budget, Nuclear Zero, Politics, U.S. government, Obama
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
A Warhead’s Life
The U.S. currently possesses nearly half of the world’s nuclear warheads. Each warhead type has its own story and takes its own path through the system. All of these warheads are born in the Department of Energy (DoE) and then reside with the Department of Defense (DoD). Many warheads eventually return to the DoE for dismantlement but some become “trapped” in the DoD through a seemingly endless cycle of upgrades, redeployments or storage in the stockpile. Below is an attempt to trace the path a warhead may take as it moves through the phases of its life-cycle (full view). Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on August 5, 2011
Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Materials, United States