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Missile defense changes reflect military's concerns
R. Jeffrey Smith reports in the Washington Post that President Obama's decision to refocus the missile defense program on more realistic threats than the Bush-era plan was designed to address was done with the full endorsement of the military.  According to Ploughshares Fund's Joe Cirincione, "I believe what's happening is what you witnessed happening in the Clinton years. Read more »
Posted by Deborah Bain on September 21, 2009
Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Missiles & Space, United States
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Ploughshares Fund Experts on Obama's Missile Defense Plan
Ploughshares Fund and our grantees have been at the forefront of the debate over missile defense, developing expert analyses, testifying before Congress, and raising questions.  Read what they are saying today in the wake of President Obama's announced decision to fundamentally revamp the system.  Click here for more. Read more »
Posted by Deborah Bain on September 18, 2009
Europe, Middle East & Persian Gulf, Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy, Iran, Missiles & Space, United States
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Obama cancels flawed missile defense program
"The Obama administration's decision announced today to cancel the deeply flawed antimissile systems in Eastern Europe is sound policy based on the best intelligence and technical assessments," writes Joe Cirincione in Foreign Policy. Read more »
Posted by Deborah Bain on September 18, 2009
Europe, Nuclear States, Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy, Missiles & Space, United States
The New Defense Realism
The Obama administration's decision announced today to cancel the deeply flawed antimissile systems in Eastern Europe is sound policy based on the best intelligence and technical assessments. U.S. President Barack Obama replaces a system that did not work against a threat that did not exist with weapons that can defend against the real Iranian missile capability. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on September 16, 2009
Europe, Missile Defense, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy, Missile Proliferation, Military Strategy, Iran, Missiles & Space, Other, United States
U.S. ballistic missile defense test
European missile defense reviewed
Supporters of basing a U.S. missile defense system in Europe are trying to determine whether the words “under review” mean “all but dead.” The Obama administration is expected to conclude its examination of the nation’s ballistic missile defense programs this month, including the controversial proposal to place a missile defense system in Europe. Arms control advocates are eager for President Barack Obama to end the effort but are reluctant to read too much into a trail of actions that seem to point toward canceling the program. Read more »
Posted by Sarah Brown on September 10, 2009
Europe, Missile Defense, Missiles & Space, United States
Bargaining chip or gas mask
The Carnegie Council examines the critical and evolving U.S.-Russia relationship in its new program on U.S. Global Engagement. Read more »
Posted by Sarah Brown on July 21, 2009
Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, U.S. Nuclear Policy, Missiles & Space, United States
Gates Grounds the Airborne White Elephant Laser
What a difference a president makes. Under President George Bush, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates resolutely defended every dime of last year's $11 billion budget for anti-missile weapons programs. Now reporting to President Obama, who favors weapons programs that are operationally effective and affordable, he is free to say what military officials have known for years: many of these programs don't work. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on July 20, 2009
Missile Defense, U.S. Foreign Policy, Missiles & Space, Other, United States
U.S. and Russia to reduce arsenals
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reached a preliminary agreement to cut American and Russian nuclear arsenals by as much as a third, instructing negotiators to draft a new accord to maintain critical verification mechanisms of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and reduce the nuclear warheads in each country. The two presidents agreed to work together to assess threats posed by countries such as Iran and North Korea and to explore cooperation in missile defense. Read more »
Posted by Sarah Brown on July 7, 2009
Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, U.S. Nuclear Policy, Missiles & Space, START, United States
Moscow Summit: Restoring the U.S.-Russia Partnership
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Posted by Deborah Bain on July 6, 2009
Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Missiles & Space, Conflict & Regional Security, United States
Gareth Evans
North Korea far worse threat than Iran
North Korea's nuclear program remains a grave threat, posing a far greater challenge to world peace than Iran's controversial nuclear enrichment, according to Gareth Evans of the Ploughshares-funded International Crisis Group. His warnings came as the U.S. decided to move additional missile defenses to Hawaii over fears the rogue state might launch a nuclear missile. Read more »
Posted by Sarah Brown on June 23, 2009
Middle East & Persian Gulf, North Korea, Nuclear States, Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Foreign Policy, Proliferation, Iran, Missiles & Space, Other, United States