One of the strangest and most interesting stories of the last week has been the apparent cyber attack on Iranian computer systems that may have targeted the nuclear plant at Bushehr. The malware virus, Stuxnet, also struck parts of China, Indonesia, India and Pakistan, but was largely focused in Iran. The malware, Stuxnet, attacks Siemens …
Why China Won’t Engage
by | 2010-09-29 | 6 Comments
Washington is abuzz with flummery purporting to explain why the Chinese are so damned obdurate as of late. (Ah, the inscrutable Chinese.) For a representative, if credulous, account of this palaver, see Josh Rogin’s story, Has China Realized It Overplayed Its Foreign Policy Hand? Americans, it seems, are bewildered by China’s “increasingly aggressive and arrogant …
Space Diplomacy
by | 2010-09-28 | 17 Comments
Those who still seek an ambitious military space diplomacy initiative during the Obama administration would do well to dwell on New START. President Obama, already tackling half a dozen outrageously hard problems, has to work overtime to convince two-thirds of the Senate to consent to ratify a modest but essential treaty. Senate Republicans (including deficit …
Two Time Bombs in New START
by | 2010-09-26 | 9 Comments
According to the preamble of New START, the Treaty’s measures “will enhance predictability and stability, and thus the security of both Parties.” The preamble also deems the Treaty part of an effort “to forge a new strategic relationship based on mutual trust, openness, predictability, and cooperation.” But as I’ve described it in my latest column …
