Threats
The Deceptively Simple Promise of Korean Peace
It might have to start with something like the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe treaty concluded at the end of the Cold War.
Ideas
The US Does Not Need New Tactical Nukes
There’s a false narrative afoot: that we lack the weapons to deter a Russian nuclear strike.
Science & Tech
Experts Say AI Could Raise the Risks of Nuclear War
A new RAND report says ideas like mutually assured destruction and minimal deterrence strategy offer a lot less assurance in the age of intelligent software.
Threats
What Does 'Denuclearization' Mean to Kim Jong Un?
A close reading of what the Korean leader reportedly told Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Policy
Senators Signal Resistance to Proposed Low-Yield Nukes
Several Democratic lawmakers on a key committee are pushing back on the given rationale for a new warhead and cruise missile.
Ideas
The US Navy Should Start Weaning its Reactors off Bomb-Grade Uranium
Most of the world's reactors use low-enriched uranium. There are at least three good reasons the U.S. fleet should as well.
Ideas
A Trump-Kim Summit: 'Why the Hell Not?'
Direct talks between America’s and North Korea’s heads of state have never been tried, and nothing else has worked.
Ideas
Don’t Let Trump Turn Iran into North Korea
Unless Congress, Europe, and other parties step up to protect the West’s nuclear deal with Iran, it will collapse, unshackling Tehran’s nuclear efforts.
Ideas
Expect North Korea to Add Nuclear Coercion to Its Provocation Playbook
Kim's nuclear arsenal is built to "deter and coerce." We're probably going to find out soon what forms the latter will take.
Ideas
Putin Just Gave Trump the Arms Race He Sought
'Let it be an arms race,' Trump said, two years ago. Now we have one. It doesn't have to be this way.
Threats
Here's How US-North Korea Crises Typically End
Donald Trump says he won't repeat the mistakes of the past. But the past offers clues to what he might do.
Ideas
The Chance of Accidental Nuclear War Is Growing
Recapitalizing the U.S. nuclear deterrent won't help. What's missing is a strategy and resources to reduce risks of cataclysmic accidents, miscalculation, and human error.
Threats
Mattis: New Sea-Launched Cruise Missile Is a Bargaining Chip
But don’t call the low-yield option a ‘tactical nuclear weapon’ — it’s still strategic, he says.
Ideas
Nuclear Nuts: Trump's New Policy Hypes The Threat and Brings Us Closer to War
The Pentagon's Nuclear Posture Review only bends reality to fit Trump’s warped views.
Science & Tech
No, the US Won’t Respond to A Cyber Attack with Nukes
Defense leaders won’t completely rule out the possibility. But it’s a very, very, very remote possibility.
Threats
Pentagon Confirms It’s Developing Nuclear Cruise Missile to Counter a Similar Russian One
The new Nuclear Posture Review nods to North Korea, China, and Iran but devotes most of its time to Russian threats and U.S. deterrence.
Threats
Shrugging Toward Doomsday
Experts warn that the world is now as dangerous as it was at the height of the Cold War. Many Americans already know it.
Threats
Trump's Red Line on North Korea Gets Fuzzier
Mike Pompeo adds a few caveats to America's strategy.
Ideas
The Most Dangerous Word in the Draft Nuclear Posture Review
By insisting that future arms control agreements be “enforceable,” the Trump administration could substitute military strikes for diplomacy.
Ideas