Home › Ploughshares Blog

Ploughshares Blog: Nuclear Weapons

Ploughshares Fund Image
Preventing the Nuclear Apocalypse
Fukushima reminds us that nuclear technology is inherently dangerous, whether in a reactor or in a bomb.  There are 443 nuclear reactors in operation around the world; there are 22,000 weapons.  The reactors have some justification; the bombs have none.  Like a doomsday machine that no one has yet turned off, thousands of nuclear bombs still sit atop missiles ready to launch within minutes. Thousands more are stacked in reserve, dangerously vulnerable to theft or accident.  Read more »
Posted by Joe Cirincione on April 26, 2011
Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Foreign Policy, U.S. Nuclear Policy, Other
'Countdown to Zero' on The History Channel
The History Channel will be showing Countdown to Zero, a riveting documentary about the global threat of nuclear weapons and the imperative of seeking a world without them. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by Reid Pauly on April 13, 2011
Entertainment, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Zero, Nuclear Terrorism, Proliferation, U.S. Nuclear Policy, Other
Remembering the Prague Speech
On April 5th, 2009, two years ago today, young President Barack Obama rose to the podium in Hradčany Square at the heart of historic Prague, Czech Republic. In one of his most eloquent and significant foreign policy speeches, Obama took up the mantle of American leadership and reoriented U.S. policy towards the goal of a nuclear weapon-free world. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by Reid Pauly on April 5, 2011
Cooperative Threat Reduction, Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Foreign Policy, Nuclear Terrorism, Proliferation, U.S. Nuclear Policy, Nuclear Materials, United States
The Next Phase of U.S. Strategy on Iran
In an annual Washington rite on Thursday, the head of the U.S. intelligence community will publicly brief the Senate on the major threats facing the nation. Amid carefully worded comments on everything from Libya to terrorism, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s most important remarks will focus on Iran’s nuclear program – namely, that diligent U.S. efforts have created both time and opportunity. Policymakers will have to decide how best to use both. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by Joe Cirincione on March 10, 2011
Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Foreign Policy, Proliferation, Iran, Other
How We Dodged Libya's Nuclear Bullet
In a stunning trans-Atlantic announcement on December 19, 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush said Libya had agreed, after nine months of secret talks, to publicly disclose and dismantle all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs; to limit its missiles to a range of less than 300 km; and to open the country immediately to comprehensive inspections to verify its compliance. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by Joe Cirincione on March 1, 2011
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear States, Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Foreign Policy, Biological and Chemical Weapons, Proliferation, Nuclear Materials
Ploughshares Fund Image
BASIC Forms UK Trident Commission
The British government is getting ready to undertake a serious inquiry into the future of its nuclear weapons program. Read more »
Posted by Reid Pauly on February 14, 2011
Europe, Nuclear Weapons
Egypt's Nuclear Dimension
As a free Egypt transforms itself, analysts are nervously watching for signs of new nuclear ambitions. Concern revolves around three issues: Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by Joe Cirincione on February 13, 2011
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear Weapons, Biological and Chemical Weapons, Proliferation
Ploughshares Fund Image
Fox News
Joe appears on Fox News to discuss WMD programs in Egypt.   Read more »
Posted by Reid Pauly on February 9, 2011
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear Weapons, Biological and Chemical Weapons, Missile Proliferation, Proliferation
Ploughshares Fund Image
Background on the News: Mohamed ElBaradei
With Egypt's revolutionary protests dominating the news, Mohamed ElBaradei has been in the spotlight as an important political figure in a new Egypt. But in the United States, ElBaradei is far more famous as the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for his efforts to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world.  Read more »
Posted by Margaret Swink on February 4, 2011
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear Weapons
Reagan the Abolitionist
One of Ronald Reagan's most powerful and living legacies was his dream of a world free of nuclear weapons. It is worth remembering this sixth of February, the centennial of his birth. Read more »
Add New Comment
Posted by Joe Cirincione on February 4, 2011
Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Zero, United States