By Andrew Szarejko and Kingston Reif Like a bad penny that always seems to find its way back into your pocket, critics of the Obama administration are using a crisis abroad to recite their favorite talking points about the importance of nuclear weapons and missile defense to U.S. security. Further Russian aggression toward Ukraine could […]
When all you have is a Hammer: Strategic Nuclear Forces and the Ukraine Crisis
By Andrew Szarejko and Kingston Reif Like a bad penny that always seems to find its way back into your pocket, critics of the Obama administration are using a crisis abroad to recite their favorite talking points about the importance of nuclear weapons and missile defense to U.S. security. Further Russian aggression toward Ukraine could […]
Global Security Newswire Story on Missile Defense Quotes Center
House Panel Approves Spending Extra $60 Million on Antimissile System Rachel Oswald May 8, 2014 A key House panel on Thursday approved a bill that would increase funding by at least $60 million for a homeland missile defense system. The chamber’s Armed Services Committee in a unanimous vote just after midnight approved annual defense authorization […]
As Another North Korean Nuclear Test Looms, What’s Washington’s Response?
This week, OtherWords published a piece I wrote alongside Lt. General (USA, Ret) Robert Gard on the Obama administration’s “strategic patience” policy toward North Korea. Here is an excerpt:
It’s time to put North Korea back on the foreign policy agenda and re-engage it in serious and responsible negotiations.
Given Chinese support for North Korea, heavy sanctions won’t compel Kim Jong Un to comply with American preferences or engage in negotiations on dictated terms. However much the United States may detest the authoritarian North Korean regime, it’s in America’s interest to engage in a dialogue to protect its national security and that of its Asian allies.
Refusing to negotiate with the North Koreans unless they make concessions dictated by Washington is counterproductive. Watchful waiting simply results in further advances in the North Korean nuclear weapons program, making America and its allies less secure. Kim Jong Un is willing to talk, and it’s in America’s interest to pick up the phone and call him.
Read the full piece here.
Global Security Newswire Story on Missile Defense Deployment in Poland Quotes Kingston Reif
GOP Pushing to Speed Up Deployment of Advanced Interceptors in Poland Rachel Oswald May 6, 2014 Senate Republicans are pushing for the U.S. military to speed up deployment of advanced interceptors in Poland to send a deterrent message to Russia. A bill introduced last week by Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and 22 other GOP members […]