Weapons of Last Resort
Quotes of the week: “You use a small one, then you go to a bigger one. I think nuclear weapons are nuclear weapons and we need to draw the line there.” — George Shultz “I don’t think there’s any such…
Tag: Ronald Reagan
Trump and Kim: Shades of Reykjavik
Quotes of the week: “The battle for the mind of Ronald Reagan was like the trench warfare of World War I: never have so many fought so hard for such barren terrain.” — Peggy Noonan “The nation’s strategic interests have…
Nuclear Posturing
Quote of the week: “If deterrence were really stable… it would cease to deter. If the probability of nuclear weapons going off were zero, they would not deter anybody.” — Kenneth Boulding The Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, as advertised,…
Responding to the INF Treaty Violation
Quote of the Week: “I don’t think even the surreptitious and very disagreeable deployment of a hundred SS-20s would have a very significant military effect. I think the SS-20s, in my judgment, in fact, is not a terribly useful military…
A World Preparing for Wars
William Bullitt accompanied President Woodrow Wilson and Colonel Edward House to Paris to negotiate an ambitious peace treaty after the carnage of World War I. Reflecting on the handiwork of vengeful allies in the Versailles Treaty, Bullitt prophetically declared, “This…
The Demise of the Republican National Security Establishment
The skirmish between Senator Bob Corker and the Obama Administration over the UN Security Council resolution on the CTBT is yet another reflection of the demise of the internationalist wing of the Republican Party. Donald Trump’s nomination and his musings…
Donald Trump’s Challenge to Nuclear Orthodoxy
The belief system in nuclear deterrence makes the most sense at the most elementary level: nuclear weapons deter use by an adversary for fear of retaliation in kind. Deterrence therefore requires survivable nuclear capabilities. It doesn’t take much by way…
In Defense of the Open Skies Treaty
With the Republican Party in tear-down mode, it’s no surprise that demolition efforts on Capitol Hill have extended to the Open Skies Treaty, which has impeccable Republican lineage. Nor is it a surprise that the demolition crew has gotten an…
Arms Racing Redux?
Back in the day – that would be the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80’s — arms racing was the norm. The “action-reaction” phenomenon ruled. If one superpower unveiled a new weapon system or improved hard-target-kill capabilities, the other superpower was sure…
Upending the Stalemate between India and Pakistan
Trend lines in the subcontinent are poor and will not improve until there is substantive dialogue between India and Pakistan. Hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would pull a “Nixon goes to China” maneuver with Pakistan have been dashed, at…
