Avatar photoYou know it was the 1980s because …

In 1986, Time Magazine hosted a conference in Washington on the Strategic Defense Initiative. You know it is the 1980s because a news magazine was hosting a conference on nuclear weapons. The images from the conference, by the way, are wonderful. They show several prominent defense figures in the full glory of the 1980s. Which …

Avatar photoThe Blue and Yellow Bomb (part 2)

Many things remain unknown about Sweden’s nuclear programme, especially why it was suddenly discontinued. It is interesting to note, of course, that the US intelligence community estimated that Sweden was on its way to the weapon up until 1964. Later intelligence assessments are considerably more cautious. That’s probably because our American cousins knew that Sweden …

Avatar photoMcGeorge Bundy

‘Tis the season for giving thanks – at least for U.S. readers of ACW. One of the many things I am thankful for is the opportunity to have had conversations about arms control with McGeorge Bundy. He was one of the principle architects of the Vietnam War. I was one of 10,000 people arrested during …

Avatar photoChina's Noisy New Boomer

This has taken me a couple of days to get to, but Hans Kristensen penned a nice post (China’s Noisy Nuclear Submarines) about China’s new Type 094 ballistic missile submarine, based on an Office of Naval Intelligence document entitled The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy: A Modern Navy with Chinese Characteristics. Three things stand out: …