Front and Center: March 16, 2019

Many of our experts were asked to weigh in on where the relationship between the United States and North Korea goes from here. Senior Policy Director Alexandra Bell writes about how to get diplomacy back on track. Program Assistant Erin Connolly writes about how this affects younger generations. New Program Coordinator Abigail Stowe-Thurston writes about the need for diplomacy, no matter how messy, to avoid military action. And the Center’s Scoville Fellow, Rachel Emond, writes about how few women were involved in the talks.
 

Arms Control With Russia Is On Life Support
Between the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and its seeming apathy toward extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) beyond its expiration in February 2021, it is looking increasingly likely that the United States and Russia could enter into a new strategic arms race. In a televised debate and newspaper article, Policy Analyst McKeon refutes the position that the INF Treaty should be abandoned, noting that without it, we risk “a rehashing of the worst moments of the Cold War.” Intern Deverrick Holmes writes that he hopes his generation will learn to prioritize arms control; and Intern Taylor Felt writes that we have a clear choice: extend New START or risk starting a new strategic arms race.
 

Top 5 Must-Reads
1) North Korea threatens to suspend denuclearization talks with the United States
2) India-Pakistan crisis may be easing, but nuclear threat still hangs over the region
3) Armed Services Chair plots move to ‘kill’ Trump’s plan for a low-yield nuke 
4) Russia Follows U.S. Out of Landmark Nuclear Weapons Treaty
5) US plans tests this year of long-banned types of missiles