Arms Control Wonk

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Blinded with Science

The House Government Reform Committee has a website devoted to creating “an ongoing record of interference with science by the Bush Administration.” The website endeavors to keep alive the issues featured in a report prepared by the committee staff, at…

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Ledeen's Iran Falsehoods

Michael Ledeen’s November 29 screed in the National Review Online about the recent EU3 deal with Iran proves that it’s easy to make arguments when you can just invent facts. Some background: Iran agreed in October 2003 to stop its…

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How Many Chinese Nuclear Weapons Redux 2

With Paul tackling the Iran issue today, I wanted to look at a popular issue for this blog—How many nuclear weapons does China have? My post shares a common theme with Paul’s systematic dismantling of Michael Ledeen—too many conservative pundits…

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Word of the Day: "Geheimdienst"

Regarding the questionable story about Iranian tunneling attributed to an “intelligence service” (“Geheimdienst” in German), a colleague notes these sort of stories are sadly common in the German press. As evidence, he cites a recent story in Die Welt—attributed only…

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Boucher Gets Pissed about Iran

The Booch has a temper. Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani suggested Iran had defeated U.S. efforts to win a referral of Iran to the UN Security Council. Asked about the comment, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher got testy with…

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TunnelDiggin' (Iran)

Der Spiegel reports that Iran is constructing a secret tunnel project near the uranium enrichment facility at Esfahan (Isfahan). Here is the relevant portion translated by World News Connection: According to an intelligence dossier, which Der Spiegel has obtained, at…

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Russian ABM Test

TASS reports that the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces tested an ABM interceptor at its Sary-Shagan facility in Kazakhstan on Monday. A spokesman for the Strategic Rocket Forces told TASS “All the tactical and technical performance characteristics of the missile were…

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Paris Negotiations Update 16: Vienna, We Have a Resolution

The IAEA Board of Governors has passed a resolution welcoming the Iran-EU3 accord. Crucially, and in line with Iranian demands, the resolution described the freeze as a voluntary, confidence-building measure and not a legally binding commitment. Its passage meant that…

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SecState on the Dancing Queen…

Not saying this matters, but… Powell in a November 26 interview with People magazine: “I love ABBA and I love pop kind of stuff and musicals…”