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Nuclear Zero

The concept of nuclear zero traces its roots back to President Reagan’s call for eliminating nuclear weapons as a “threat to the world.” Following is analysis and opinion from Ploughshares Fund staff, grantees and guests on the efforts and progress toward nuclear zero.
Minuteman Missile in Silo
Our generation’s security challenge: eliminating nuclear weapons.
There are approximately 17,300 nuclear weapons in the world across nine countries.  Of these, nearly 7,700 are in the United States.  Read more »
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Posted by Joel Rubin on June 19, 2013
Berlin Speech, Nuclear Zero
Joel Rubin with his three beautiful daughters.
Foreign policy wishes for Father’s Day
As a father, I feel responsible not only for my three little girls’ health and well being, but also for their emotional security, their education and their safety. Because of this, I believe that it’s my responsibility to do my utmost to make the world a better place.  Read more »
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Posted by Joel Rubin on June 14, 2013
Father's Day, Nuclear Zero
Susan Rice on Nuclear Weapons
Susan Rice does not speak very often on nuclear policy, but behind the scenes she played a major role in shaping Barack Obama’s nuclear weapons positions in the 2008 campaign. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on June 5, 2013
Nuclear Zero, Susan Rice, United States
The President's Prague Agenda on the Brink
On Thursday, Rachel Maddow asked me if President Obama was going to fulfill the visionary agenda he laid out four years ago in Prague. I paused. What should I say? I support this agenda to move us step by step towards what Obama termed "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." But progress has been slow. I took a deep breath and answered the only way I could: honestly. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on April 5, 2013
Chuck Hagel, Department of Defense, Des Brown, Fissile Material, John Kerry, Minister of Defense, MSNBC, Nuclear Security, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Zero, Prague, Prague speech, President Obama, Rachel Maddow, Sam Nunn, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, United Kingdom, White House, Ploughshares Fund, United States
Fukushima 2013 to 20013? Legacy of the Nuclear Age
Next week marks the second anniversary of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima reactors in Japan. Remember? The days and weeks we collectively crossed our fingers as heroic workers improvised and threw everything they could at melting reactors and damaged spent fuel pools to stave off disaster? Seems like a long time gone and Fukushima has, in our collective consciousness, faded into a historical nuclear footnote. “Close call,” we may think, “but the danger is over.” Not quite. In fact, not even close. Read more »
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Posted by Paul Carroll on March 7, 2013
Japan, Chernobyl, fukushima, Hanford, Nuclear Zero, Russia, Three Mile Island, Yucca Mountain, United States
Looking at "Obama's Nuclear Future"
Today, Foreign Affairs published "Obama's Nuclear Future: The Battle to Reduce the U.S. Nuclear Stockpile Begins" by Joe Cirincione. He looks at the past and likely future of President Obama's policies and how we might finally break the grip of Cold War thinking on our nuclear posture. Read more »
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Posted by admin on March 6, 2013
Global Zero, Joe Cirincione, new start, Nuclear Zero, Prague speech, United States
All-Star Nuclear Policy Team
President Barack Obama has assembled perhaps the most knowledgeable senior nuclear policy team in American history. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on February 27, 2013
Bill Perry, Chuck Hagel, Gottemoeller, Joe Cirincione, John Kerry, Nuclear Zero, Rose Gottemoeller, Tom Donilon
Obama Administration to Push for Deeper Nuclear Reductions
In an upcoming decision, the Obama administration is poised to pare down the U.S. nuclear arsenal. This move, which the president is likely to discuss in Tuesday’s State of the Union address, has the support of many experts who note it’s about time the U.S. moved away from Cold War weapons and invested in a 21st century security strategy that will make us more secure. Read more »
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Posted by Alyssa Demus on February 11, 2013
Center for Public Integrity, Jeffrey Smith, Nuclear Budget, Nuclear Zero
Top 10 Books for Your 2013 Radioactive Reading Resolution
With a new year come exciting opportunities to expand your knowledge of nuclear issues. Since you have probably read through last year’s list (well done!) and our summer list (kudos!), we’re providing you with a brand new list to satisfy your reading resolution for 2013. Covering diverse topics from Hiroshima manga (Japanese graphic novels) to the development of the bomb in Pakistan there is something to satisfy the nuclear wonk in everyone. Read more »
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Posted by Jessica Sleight on January 22, 2013
Japan, Book Review, Entertainment, Nuclear Terrrorism, Nuclear Zero, Russia, Pakistan, Iran
The Tick Tock of the Doomsday Clock
The minute hand of the Doomsday Clock will stay at five minutes to midnight for the year 2013, say the scientists and experts at The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists who maintain one of the world’s most famous time pieces. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on January 15, 2013
Doomsday Clock, Nuclear Zero, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists