Author Archive
Tom Z. Collina
Policy Director, Ploughshares Fund

Ideas
Happy Birthday to the Bomb
If we want to avoid nuclear destruction for the next 75 years, we must take the president’s finger off the button.
- Tom Z. Collina and William J. Perry
Ideas
The Coronavirus Teaches Us Not to Let Trump Press the Nuclear Button
Some of the president’s poor decisions on COVID-19, like proposing to reopen the nation by Easter, have been reversed. But a presidential decision to start nuclear war cannot be.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Democrats Retreat on Nuclear Policy
The 2020 authorization bill fails to check Trump’s worst impulses.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Dear Pope Francis: While You're in Japan, Call for No First Use
The pontiff was already planning to call for global nuclear disarmament. Asking the U.S. to adopt a no-first-use policy would make the world a bit safer, faster.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
The Cold War Ended 30 Years Ago. Why Are Things With Russia So Bad?
Critics said NATO expansion would start a new Cold War. They were right.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Democrats Should Not Give New Nukes to a President They Want to Impeach
National security concerns about Trump are only the latest reason Sen. Jack Reed should kill the new sub-launched warhead.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
House to 2020 Candidates: Trump and Nukes Don’t Mix
Those who would win the Democratic nod should heed the vote to kill the new low-yield nuke.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Trump Was Right to Walk Away — If He's Telling the Truth
North Korea disputes his account, but either way they must reset and try again, soon.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Trump, Nukes, and No First Use
Two bills aim to enact a long-overdue policy that will make the world less dangerous.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Can Trump and Putin Save Nuclear Arms Control In Paris?
Their Nov. 11 meeting might just be their last chance.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Congress Rushes to Spend Billions on Space Weapons—Even if They Don’t Work
Even a bare-bones system would be ridiculously costly, and more likely to foster war than prevent it.
- Tom Z. Collina and Zack Brown
Ideas
A Summit Short on Details, Yet Better Than War
The good news is that the Trump administration already has plans to continue the talks.
- Tom Z. Collina
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.
- Tom Z. Collina and William J. Perry
Ideas
The Most Dangerous Man in the World
It is dawning on Congress that no one can stop President Trump from ordering a nuclear attack.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
On North Korea, More Missile Defense Is Not the Answer
Buying more unreliable interceptors would be a wasteful invitation to disaster.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Welcome to America’s ‘Nuclear Sponge’
If ICBMs are meant to draw enemy missiles toward American soil, it’s time to rethink our nuclear strategy.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
How to Slow President Trump From Pushing The Nuclear Button
Trump could order a nuclear war as easily as a Domino’s pizza. Here's how to change that.
- Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Bernie Sanders Looks Pretty Darn Establishment on Nuclear Weapons
Sanders is no outside-the-margin liberal on keeping up America’s nuclear arsenal.
- Joe Cirincione and Tom Z. Collina
Ideas
Russia is Proving Why Nuclear-Tipped Cruise Missiles Are a Very Bad Idea
Those four cruise missiles that crashed in Iran could’ve been carrying nuclear warheads — which is why the US should ban them, not renew them.
- Tom Z. Collina and William Saetren
Ideas
The Pope Is Lining Up to Ban Nuclear Weapons
Under Pope Francis the Catholic church is moving away from Cold War nuclear acceptance faster than Congress and the Obama administration.
- Joe Cirincione and Tom Z. Collina