By John D. Isaacs and Samuel M. Hickey In the recently completed Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress takes some significant steps toward reining in the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and its wayward acquisition strategy. In the bill, Congress levels criticisms at the Pentagon’s handling of missile defense programs, reduces the missile […]
How is the National Defense Authorization Act passed?
The NDAA process, explained
By Monica Montgomery The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes appropriations and establishes policy for the Department of Defense (DOD), nuclear weapons programs at the Department of Energy (DOE), defense intelligence programs, and other defense activities of the federal government (e.g., military construction projects, homeland security programs). The Defense Department is one of the only […]
The President and the Nuclear Button
With the 2020 presidential election looming large, it’s a good time to take a look at the absolute power the President of the United States has over U.S. nuclear weapons. Policy Analyst and Host Geoff Wilson sat down with Dr. Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science at the Stevens Institute of Technology, to discuss the […]
Trump’s Iran policy is rejected but the political battle wages on
By Samuel Hickey The president of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, Dian Triansyah Djani of Indonesia, has determined that the Security Council cannot proceed with the United States’ effort to snap back sanctions on Iran. After quiet consultations with the 15-member body, he said that he was “not in a position to take further […]
