The final presidential debate, which will cover foreign policy, is tonight at 9 pm EST. That leaves plenty of time to read up on the candidates’ records as well as the broader state of affairs in national security today. Courtesy of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, here’s some reading material to take a look at before turning on your TV tonight:
Romney Strikes Out On Nukes: Kingston’s October column in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which sizes up Mitt Romney’s stances on New START, Iran, Russia, and missile defense. The outlook is bleak – here’s Kingston’s conclusion:
If Romney is elected, it remains to be seen whether he would side with the far-right fringe on these issues, as he did on New START and has on the campaign trail, or if he would heed the advice of many former Republican government officials and national security leaders, who believe that the United States can maintain a strong and effective deterrent with a smaller number of nuclear weapons at a reduced financial cost. Unfortunately, the early signs are not encouraging.
Fifteen Foreign-Policy Challenges for the Next President: Beyond what the candidates will debate this evening, there are a number of other issues waiting to be resolved on the other side of the election. Get up to speed with this handy factsheet.
The Presidential Candidates and Iran: 4 Things to Know About Where They Stand: My piece on how the candidates have staked out differing positions on Iran, an issue that will be sure to come up tonight after the minor controversy caused this weekend by a New York Times story about US-Iran talks that the White House then denied.
