Loyal readers may know John Mueller, who holds the Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies at The Ohio State University. (I know, that’s so awesome.) Mueller is rather less worried than I about an instance of nuclear terrorism — he’s also less worried about proliferation, arms races or any prospect of nuclear use at …
Reading Mark Hibbs in Washington
by | 2009-10-16 | 7 Comments
It’s a red-letter day: David Ignatius of the Washington Post has been reading Mark Hibbs in Nucleonics Week. He [i.e., Ignatius] concludes that molybdenum impurities could prevent Iran from enriching its LEU far beyond present levels. No further enrichment, no breakout scenario, right? Well, yes and no. (The Mo question has been discussed at some …
Why Does North Korea Have a Gas-Graphite Reactor?
by | 2009-10-16 | 12 Comments
A close-up view of the decommissioned Tokai Power Station — Japan’s first power reactor The usual answer to that question is the one that the North Koreans have supplied: gas-cooled, graphite-moderated reactors can be operated without enriched uranium or heavy water, and are therefore ideal for a country with limited or no ability to get …
MIRVs and Remorse, Sort Of
by | 2009-10-15 | 5 Comments
Henry Kissinger doesn’t do remorse. The closest he came to second guessing his arms control negotiating record has become a classic quote in Wonkdom: I would say in retrospect that I wish I had thought through the implications of a MIRVed world more thoughtfully in 1969 and 1970 than I did. Kissinger offered this thought …
