Nuclear Budget

The US nuclear weapons budget is vast, difficult to decipher and rife with waste and excess. Following is analysis and opinion from Ploughshares Fund staff, grantees and guests on the continuing effort to shed light on and ultimately correct the nuclear budget.

  • 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explained that reductions in the U.S. nuclear arsenal would be key to future defense: "We will continue to get rid of outdated Cold War-era systems," he said, "so that we can invest in the capabilities we need for the future."

    February 2, 2012 - By Joe Cirincione
  • Today, standing with his top military officials, President Obama rolled out new guidance that realigns the Pentagon toward today’s strategic realities.

    January 5, 2012 - By Ben Loehrke
  • The debate over the extent to which the U.S.

    December 20, 2011 - By Joel Rubin
  • In a recent article, Jeffrey Lewis of Arms Control Wonk outlined what could happen to U.S. nuclear forces under a sequestration budget. He illustrates that even with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s so-called “doomsday” cuts to nuclear weapons related activities, the U.S. could still field enough warheads to greatly surpass the limits put in place by New START.

    What could that “doomsday” look like if the U.S. maximized its nuclear forces? (View at full size)

    December 5, 2011 - By Peter Fedewa
  • 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. 

    December 1, 2011 - By admin
  • 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.

    November 30, 2011 - By Joe Cirincione
  • $700 billion. That’s what the US is planning to spend on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next decade.

    November 22, 2011 - By Mary Kaszynski
  • 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.

    November 17, 2011 - By Mary Kaszynski
  • It’s not always easy to know what’s happening behind the curtain in Washington, DC.

    November 4, 2011 - By admin
  • The following is a guest post by Michael Douglas. 

    There are some threats that can’t be solved with military might. That’s exactly why we need smart diplomacy that serves to build international cooperation, increases world stability and furthers our own national security.

    November 3, 2011 - By admin