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 …
Why Iran's Clock Keeps Resetting
by | 2009-08-20 | 26 Comments
I’ve never asked, but am willing to bet that the good folks at The Bulletin get a fair bit of grief over the Doomsday Clock. Seeing as we’ve been at five minutes to midnight since 2007 (the typical snide question presumably goes) just how it is that the world keeps turning? That’s the problem with …
