Accidents happen. The least accident-prone nuclear weapons are the ones that are not in motion — but not always: see Eric Schlosser’s account of the Damascus incident in Command and Control. Nuclear weapons in transit are more accident prone. The dangers associated with transit multiply with the number of vehicles carrying weapons in transit, which …
Taiwan Research Reactor
by | 2014-04-10 | 15 Comments
Ever seen a picture of the Taiwan Research Reactor? Me neither! Readers may know that I am very interested in the history of Taiwan’s nuclear weapons efforts, as well as the death of IAEA Inspector Pierre Noir (although I do not suspect foul play). If you are interested in the history of Taiwan’s bomb program, …
Syria, Forgeries and False-Flags
by | 2014-04-08 | 7 Comments
Whoops, somehow I initially published my notes for this piece instead of the piece itself. Here is the correct post. Well, there are plenty of reasons to doubt Sy Hersh’s recent reporting implying that the chemical weapons attack on Ghouta was some sort of Turko-Saudi-Al Nusra false-front attack — I am rolling my eyes as …
The Bucket Brigade
by | 2014-04-08 | 9 Comments
For his first term, President Barack Obama selected Significant Outsiders for his key foreign policy and national security posts. In his second term, he depends heavily on known commodities and loyalists. He promotes from within and keeps the State Department on a short leash. As his original appointees leave, their successors have less clout. Some …
