The 1971 war between India and Pakistan ended in a decisive victory for India and the vivisection of Pakistan. Pakistan’s nuclear weapon program began shortly thereafter, when President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gathered the best and the brightest of his country’s nuclear establishment at Multan on January 24, 1972. The 1971 war may also have given …
Declaratory Policy
by | 2010-01-04 | 15 Comments
Sorry for the light blogging of late — as usual, I am writing a lot, just not finishing anything. I notice this very interesting story by Paul Richter in the Los Angeles Times on deliberations over the Nuclear Posture Review. In particular, Richter summarizes the debate over “declaratory” policy — public statements about the role …
At Year-End (A Thinly-Veiled Pep Talk)
by | 2009-12-30 | 5 Comments
Words matter, which helps explain the arms control community’s preoccupation with declaratory policies and treaties relating to nuclear weapons. But whatever phraseology emerges from the Obama administration’s Nuclear Posture Review and however long it takes for the CTBT to enter into force, the stock prices of nuclear weapons have never been lower for major powers. …
Physically, It’s a Small World After All
by | 2009-12-29 | 12 Comments
As this penultimate year of the decade draws to a close, our thoughts naturally turn to all the changes we have seen. (Don’t ask me why this year and not next, there is just something special I suppose about seeing that tens digit change.) One thing that strikes me is all the convincing proof we …
