The Reagan Vision

The Case for a U.S. No-First-Use Policy By Daryl G. Kimball

bobcatou — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 16:00:58 +0000

Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 film “Dr. Strangelove” delivers an eerily accurate depiction of the absurd logic and catastrophic risks of U.S. and Russian Cold War nuclear deterrence strategy, but for one key detail: President Merkin Muffley was wrong when he said, “It is the avowed policy of our country never to strike first with nuclear weapons.” But it should be. – More

Kim Jong-un Has a Dream. The U.S. Should Help Him Realize It. By John Delury

bobcatou — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 02:34:27 +0000

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea returned from Pyongyang this week bearing fresh messages of good will from Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader: promises to permanently dismantle a test site and a missile-launch pad and to shutter a major nuclear facility. The pledges — “subject to final negotiations,” as President Trump artfully put it — have already been criticized as half-steps, if not traps. There still is no road map or timeline for the complete denuclearization of North Korea. – More

North Korea leader offers to dismantle nuclear test site — but only after U.S. acts

bobcatou — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 13:52:37 +0000

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Wednesday to permanently dismantle the country’s main nuclear site, but only if the United States makes concessions first. – More

North Korea’s Trump-Era Strategy: Keep Making A-Bombs, but Quietly

bobcatou — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 12:25:38 +0000

For seven years, Kim Jong-un has pursued an in-your-face strategy for building his nuclear arsenal: detonating blasts underground and firing missiles into the sky, all to send the message that his country’s nuclear buildup is irreversible. – More

How Obama Made It Easier for Trump to Launch a Nuke

bobcatou — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 01:43:17 +0000

Most folks push to the back of their minds the harrowing notion that a single person could, with one command, launch nuclear Armageddon. And even when we do think about it, we still think in Cold War metaphors: Nuclear attacks have to be big. They have to destroy cities. They have to kill millions. – More

Can the U.S. and Russia Avert a New Arms Race? By Daryl G. Kimball

bobcatou — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 18:24:28 +0000

Five long years have passed since U.S. President Barack Obama proposed and Russian President Vladimir Putin unfortunately rejected negotiations designed to cut their excessive nuclear stockpiles by one-third below the limits set by the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) – More

John McCain, Nuclear Disarmament, and What Might Have Been

bobcatou — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 18:20:52 +0000

John McCain wanted to ban the bomb. It is not the image one has of the late Arizona senator, but when he ran for president in 2008, he argued that “the United States should lead a global effort at nuclear disarmament.” – More

The US is now ‘worse off’ on North Korea than it was before the Trump-Kim summit, expert says

bobcatou — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 14:27:04 +0000

The United States is currently at a weaker position with North Korea than before U.S. President Donald Trump met with the leader of the rogue nation, an expert told CNBC on Monday. – More

Trump calls off Pompeo’s North Korea visit, citing a lack of progress on denuclearization

bobcatou — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 01:01:56 +0000

President Trump on Friday called off a planned trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, just days before the top diplomat was to arrive in the country for the next round of high-stakes nuclear talks, the first public sign of the president’s festering frustration over the stalled negotiations. – More

Once ‘No Longer a Nuclear Threat,’ North Korea Now in Standoff With U.S.

bobcatou — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 01:32:34 +0000

North Korea is insisting that the United States declare that the Korean War is over before providing a detailed, written disclosure of all its atomic weapons stockpiles, its nuclear production facilities and its missiles as a first major step toward denuclearization. – More