Bye-Bye Bipartisanship
A friend and I have an ongoing debate about the reasons for the plague of partisan rancor now afflicting Washington in general and arms control in particular. For my friend, the passage of the...
View ArticleThe Dogs of War
Fellow ACW readers, can you recall a time when the world seemed more inflamed and disordered? Governed spaces are shrinking. Wild men lay waste. The dogs of war have been unleashed and peaceful...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Open Source and the MH17 Shootdown
What open source information is out there about the MH17 shootdown? Do the rebels have the Buk missile system that reportedly downed the aircraft? How has open source analysis helped analysts fact...
View ArticleGeneration Prague: An Overview
The most practical lesson I learned at Generation Prague was to never show up 25 minutes early to a State Department event, as doors typically open 25 minutes after they are scheduled to do so. My...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Senators and South Africa
Yesterday the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) held a hearing on nuclear diplomacy with Iran. Speakers made several references to South Africa’s nuclear past and what it means for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Russia and the INF: Don’t Call it a Circumvention
What should we make of the United States’ conclusion that Russia has violated the INF? What do we know about the violation? What is the substance of the State Department’s arms control compliance...
View ArticleCTBT Public Policy Course
A quick PSA, courtesy of Jeffrey, regarding the CTBT Public Policy course sponsored by the CTBTO that runs from September 1st to September 9th. The info link is here, and I have included the majority...
View ArticleWill Pakistan and India Break the Fissile Material Deadlock?
Pakistan is ramping up fissile material production capabilities for military purposes while vetoing a fissile material cut-off treaty negotiation at the Conference on Disarmament. India is also...
View ArticleRussia Claims U.S. INF Violations: A Wonk’s Démarche
Experts in the United States have taken note of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s (RMFA) claims regarding “the main problems” with implementation of the Treaty between the United States of America and the...
View ArticleEverything You Wanted to Know About Iraq’s Residual CW, But Were Afraid to Ask
On June 11th, during its rapid conquest of large portions of the Sunni Arab regions of Iraq, ISIS captured the Al Muthanna chemical-weapons production facility (Iraq’s primary production plant under...
View ArticleThe Myth of Deterrence Stability
This summer, I’ve been thinking and writing about the delusional, aspirational notion of deterrence stability between antagonistic nuclear-armed states. For the short form of my argument, see my essay...
View ArticleResponding to Treaty Violations
Gray-haired readers of ACW will remember when the acronym RSVP was treaty-related. During the first term of the Reagan administration, arms-control opponents compiled a long list of the Kremlin’s...
View ArticleSatellites Under Threat: The Spread of Hit-To-Kill
What are the implications of the spread of hit-to-kill? What are the differences between ground based missile defense interceptors and anti-satellite weapons? Why is China continuing to develop ground...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Korla Missile Test Complex
I have a new column at Foreign Policy, as well as a podcast with Aaron Stein, on China’s testing of hit-to-kill technologies against satellites and ballistic missiles. I’ve been trying to figure out...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brodie at the Beginning
Original Caption: “Professor Bernard Brodie conducting a class.” September 1946. Walter Sanders, photographer. It’s been awhile since I’ve steered aspiring wonks and ACW readers to the virtues of...
View ArticleGeolocating the Toksa Launch
Give it a second to load the map. As I suspected, some of North Korea’s recent “MLRS” tests are more likely tests of the solid-fueled SS-21 Toksa SRBM. The missile in question is an extended-range...
View ArticleAn Expensive Burden: Nuclear Weapons in Europe
Are NATO based nuclear weapons an advantage in a dangerous world? Or are they an expensive and obsolete weapon that undermine NATO burden sharing? Is NATO divided about US nuclear weapons in Europe?...
View ArticleUncommon Strategic Restraint
Our nuclear future would take a significant turn for the worse if Beijing and New Delhi begin to mimic Cold War thinking about the utility of nuclear weapons. So far, they haven’t. New Delhi waited 24...
View ArticleIsodarco PSA
For the second year in a row, a PSA regarding the Isodarco conference! Isodarco since 1966 Italian Pugwash Group International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts 28th Winter Course on:...
View ArticleA Hypersonic Arms Race
What is the status of China’s and the United States’ hypersonic weapons programs? What can open source tell us about China’s most recent rest? What happened at Zodiak Island? Are hypersonic weapons...
View Article
