13 posts
President Obama has delivered another thoughtful, balanced speech, this time at West Point. His commencement address lent structure to his foreign and national-security policy decisions. It was long overdue, and essential after an exasperated, revealing response last month in Manila…
Is there a sensor gap? Today, Jeffrey and Aaron discuss the Treaty on Open Skies, Russia’s new spy plane, the sensor gap, compliance concerns, and the “taxi” option. The conversation begins with a general discussion about the Russian spy plane,…
Pakistan has been failing for a long time. There have been periods of economic growth, backed up by foreign patrons – mostly the United States and increasingly China — but for the most part, Pakistan’s economy and internal security continue…
Hey, look, the Government of Burma has officially responded to a pair of articles by Catherine Dill and I describing a suspect defense facility near Pauk: Speaking on May 15, U Ye Htut said he strongly objected to report. “But…
What is Burma building in the jungle? In this week’s podcast, Jeffrey and Aaron discuss Jeffrey’s and Catherine Dill’s two recent pieces on Burma’s very large – and very suspicious – facility in Pauk. The conversation begins with a discussion…
A dedicated band of anti-arms controllers, led by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle, sought to foil President Ronald Reagan’s pursuit of nuclear arms reduction treaties with Moscow. One tactic was to publish charge…
Catherine Dill and I have published a pair of articles concerning allegations that Burma’s generals are building a chemical weapons facility near a place called Pauk. The article published on the CNS website analyzes satellite images of the site, while…
Henry Kissinger wrote two early, influential books on the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy (1957) and The Necessity for Choice (1960). I bought these used books at bargain-basement prices at the Princeton University bookstore. The name on the inside…
Can the West verify a deal with Iran over its nuclear program? Jeffrey and Aaron discuss Ken Pollack’s oped in the New York Times and ask whether the international community should focus more on inspections or “breakout” times. The discussion includes our…
Mathias Rust probably questioned his decision to fly again to Moscow. In 1987, the then-19-year-old West German national breached the Soviet Union’s border in a rented single-engine Cessna, flew nearly 550 miles through what what supposed to be the country’s…
