The Nuclear First — and Second — Use Dilemma
Lyric of the week: No one likes us I don’t know why We may not be perfect But heaven knows we try But all around Even our old friends put us down Let’s drop the big one And see what…
2019
104 posts
KCN-eh? January’s other North Korea Developments
Andrea hosts one last KCN-eh? before heading off to the Great White North. Jeffrey joins in to talk about North Korea’s other developments from January, including the site of the second Trump-Kim summit, U.S. Special Representative Stephen Beigun’s speech at…
The DPRK’s Monuments Men
Many observers have noted that North Korea’s external propaganda shifted over the course of 2018 as nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles were replaced with an emphasis on economic development. Notably, North Korea’s military parade on September 9 to commemorate the 70th anniversary…
Cleaning Up Trash
Verse of the week: Long, too long America, Traveling roads all even and peaceful you learn’d from joys and prosperity only, But now, ah now, to learn from crises of anguish, advancing, grappling with direst fate and recoiling not, And…
The 2019 Nuclear Threat Assessment for South Asia
Quote of the week: “India’s rapidly worsening air pollution is causing about 1.1 million people to die prematurely each year and is now surpassing China’s as the deadliest in the world, a new study of global air pollution shows… Deaths caused…
How Low Has America Fallen in the Trump Administration?
Quote of the week: “Is this pattern of disruption a force for good or not? I’d argue this disruption is a positive development.” — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking long distance to the Davos gathering, January 22, 2019 Another…
From Bone Saws to Ballistic Missiles
Satellite images taken by Planet Labs appear to show that Saudi Arabia has constructed a plant to manufacture solid propellant ballistic missiles. Jeffrey and Aaron talk about the CNS team’s latest find.
Avangard: A Boost-Guide Primer
Russia tested a hypersonic missile, or at least they claimed to. As of now, Putin and Russian media have told us a lot, but what do we really know about Avangard? Aaron and Jeffrey are joined by James Acton from…
Swiss and Swedish Inquiries on the Nuclear Ban Treaty
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW, or “Ban Treaty”), negotiated and opened for signature in 2017, is a divisive document. It was conceived at the initiative of over one hundred non-nuclear weapon states eager to highlight the…
The Lure and Illusion of Consensus
Qute of the week: “There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required. The state of…
