Arms Control Wonk

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USAID "Accomplishments in Iraq"

Some “highlights” in the USAID fact sheet released a couple of weeks ago: Power Production“In April, Iraq’s electrical generation capacity was 1,275 MW-29 percent of the pre-conflict level. … Total demand in Iraq is still estimated to be 7,000 MW,…

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When it rains, it pours: Afghanistan and Iraq

The New York Times is reporting that, contrary to “repeated statements by the Bush administration and American officials in Iraq”, U.S. intellgience officials “are confronting a broad-based Shiite uprising that goes well beyond supporters of one militant Islamic cleric who…

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More Wolfowitz Delusions

Wolfowitz, in October 2003, responding to suggestions that an ambush that killed several Ukranian soldiers might dash hopes for a more international force: Actually, I visited down in that area. I met with the commander of the multinational force. It’s…

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Zhang Aiping and the Giant Wave (Julang)

As I try to write a section in the dissertation on the principles of design behind the Chinese nuclear arsenal, I am confronted by the following two passages, both written by the eminent political scientist John Lewis (no relation): “Zhang…

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US Strikes Mosque in Fallujah

The Associated Press is reporting that we struck a mosque in Fallujah with three missiles, killing 40 people. The Washington Post reports that a command post authorized the strike after several requests from local commanders for air strikes against the…

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Rumsfeld Grudgingly Admits Obvious

Al-Jazeera has a priceless photo of Rumsfeld admitting we have a “serious problem” in Iraq. In the “possibly fabricated evidence of a serious problem” department, alongside Iraqi WMD programs, the Evening Standard reports “Saddam Hussein has been moved out of…

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CENTCOM: No Damage to the Mosque

CENTCOM is saying they didn’t actually hit the mosque: To gain access to the compound housing the mosque, the release continued, the Marines used air support to breach a wall several hundred yards away from the actual mosque structure. One…

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Russian Arms Control Researcher Convicted

Igor Sutyagin, a scholar at Moscow’s Institute of USA and Canada Studies (ISKRAN), has been convicted on trumped-up espionage charges. Russia’s Federal Security Bureau (the old KGB) has alleged he sold unclassified information about nuclear submarines and missile warning systems…