Yes, yes, it is shameless, but I can’t resist pointing out that NPR is running a boatload of analytical, talking-head-driven pieces on Iran this week. (At least in this instance, NPR is not the Congressionally mandated bureaucratic process, but the nationwide radio network backstopped by the french fry purchases of your childhood.) Monday morning’s piece …
KSLV-1 and the MTCR
by | 2009-08-24 | 20 Comments
Mating the Indigenous KSLV-1 Second Stage with the Angara It always helps to go back and read the original documents, even to things you think you know fairly well. I found myself doing that recently when a number of ( wonk-readers questioned the MTCR-soundness of Russia’s sale of the Angara as a first stage for …
National Academies CTBT Study
by | 2009-08-21 | 3 Comments
As many of you know, the Obama Administration has tasked the National Academies Committee on International Security and Arms Control (NAS–CISAC) to prepare a study on technical issues related to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The National Academies has released the terms of reference and committee membership. The main charge to the committee …
Massive Retaliation
by | 2009-08-20 | 8 Comments
What was the apogee of U.S. nuclear excess? Numerically speaking, one could argue that it was in the 1960s, when the overall size of the U.S. nuclear stockpile peaked, or in the 1980s, if we’re counting the number of warheads associated with strategic nuclear delivery vehicles. In terms of U.S. declaratory policy, I would argue …
