It wasn't the mutants. It was humans that caused the Cuban Missile Crisis. Only luck saved us from nuclear war. But other than that, the new film, X-Men: First Class, gets a lot right about the historic crisis that is central to its plot. Read more »
What parts of the government should be permanently furloughed?
Cut the Missile Defense Agency. The military services would do a better job determining what they need, what works, and how much to spend. The MDA functions primarily as an in-house lobbyist for systems the services have not asked for and do not need. We could save half of the over $10 billion budgeted this year for missile defense by eliminating this redundant agency and the programs it promotes. Read more »
The Obama administration is pursuing a missile defense plan based on a system with questionable test records. The New York Times reported on a technical critique of the SM-3 interceptor by Dr. Ted Postol of MIT and Dr. George Lewis of Cornell University recently published in Arms Control Today. Read more »
The Heritage Foundation's film about nuclear threats, "33 Minutes", is a modern day Reefer Madness, the 1930s film on the descent into insanity and criminality of a group of marijuana smokers. Read more »
Nuclear blogger Max Bergmann, writing for the Center for American Progress' Wonk Room, corrected Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Frank Gaffney’s assertion that last week’s Wall Street Journal op-ed by George Shultz, Bill Perry, Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn called for building a new nuclear warhead. "Despite the fact that there is nothing written in the op-ed that says anything about building a new warhead. Read more »
President Obama sent National Security Adviser James L. Jones and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen to Moscow on Wednesday to clear the last hurdles to a new nuclear pact, but some observers worry that U.S. Read more »
Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin says U.S. plans for a missile defense system is the main obstacle for reaching a new deal with the U.S. Read more »
The Department of Defense is designing non-nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, which could be operational in less than two years. Packed with conventional explosives, they would be able to strike anywhere on the planet within one hour. For some strikes, argue military planners, warplanes and cruise missiles are too slow, too vulnerable to air defenses, and too short range. ICBMs travel above the atmosphere, so they avoid most radar systems and the airspace of countries en route. The U.S. Read more »
Following a series of revelations about Iran's nuclear program, Joe speaks with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell and gives his analysis of the events.
Watch the full segment after the jump.
Read more »
"I admire the leading role Ploughshares Fund plays in catalyzing initiatives to prevent nuclear terrorism [and] stop the development of new nuclear weapons."
- Michael Douglas
"Ploughshares became a leader in its field by building a smart staff, establishing a distinguished board of advisors, and consulting widely and wisely.” - Paul Brest and Hal Harvey
"This is the moment when we have to move forward and all of us come together to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and eliminate them from the face of the earth."
- General Colin Powell
There are currently 17,300 nuclear weapons in the world across nine countries. Ploughshares Fund is working to reduce and eliminate these stockpiles.
"If you're looking to get a lot of efficacy for your dollar, I think Ploughshares Fund is a very effective way of making the world a safer place." - Brooks Walker, III
