Arms Control Wonk

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No Cities

Quotes of the week: “Most of what we call civilization depends on reciprocal vulnerability.” – Thomas C. Schelling, “What Went Wrong with Arms Control?” “With nuclear weapons available, the restraint of violence cannot await the outcome of a contest of…

Episode35 min

The Space Launch Simorgh-asbord

Jeffrey’s team is at it again.  This time, they (and Jonathan McDowell!) caught an unannounced (and failed) Iranian space launch attempt and have now caught what appears to be a second unannounced (and failed) Iranian space launch attempt.  The failed…

Episode40 min

The Relevance of the Nuclear Posture Review

Is the Nuclear Posture Review something worth doing, or a massive waste of time and political capital? Jeffrey and Aaron vote “waste.” The NPR takes up a ton of time, leaves policy on autopilot during its duration, and burns a…

Article

After WMD Use, Then What?

Verse of the week: “Spell the spiel of cause and effect,/ Ride the long rail of fact after fact;/ What curled the plume in the drake’s tail/ And put the white ring round his neck?” — Wendell Berry, “For the…

Article

Go Big or Go Home?

Quotes of the week: “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” — George Washington Carver “The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution.” — Sun Tzu The June 16th meeting between Presidents Joe Biden…

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Adios, Open Skies Treaty

Quote of the week: “Virtue signaling is for political show horses, but unbecoming for America.”—John Bolton Steve Liewer of the Omaha World-Herald has been our eyes and ears on the successes, trials, and tribulations of the Open Skies Treaty. I…

Episode30 min

Hyperbolic Hyper Hype

The hype is real. Maybe its a branding thing, maybe people forget ballistic missiles are a thing, maybe nobody thinks “glider force” sounds cool. But whatever the reason, people keep calling hypersonic glide vehicles fast compared to existing missile systems.…