In an interview with Japan’s Asahi Shimbun last week, former Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke at-length about an array of nuclear issues, ranging from the value of nuclear weapons, to unilateral nuclear US reductions, to the threats posed by the Chinese, North Korean, and Iranian nuclear programs.
The Pentagon’s 2013 Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat Assessment: Why There’s No Need to Panic
The National Air and Space Intelligence Center’s (NASIC) 2013 “Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat” assessment, issued on July 11, is likely to cause some consternation within the US national security community. While the press has focused primarily on the Pentagon’s assertions about the Chinese nuclear program (according to the report, China “has the most active and diverse ballistic missile development program in the world,” and the number of its warheads capable of reaching the US could grow to “well over 100 within the next 15 years”), the report also contains a few ominous-sounding claims about North Korean and Iranian missile capabilities.
National Defense Magazine Story on Proliferation Quotes Kingston Reif
United States Remains Concerned About Nuclear Weapons By Valerie Insinna and Dan Parsons August 2013 The number of nuclear weapons in circulation worldwide has been slowly but steadily declining in recent years because the United States and Russia are scaling back their nuclear arsenals. Though fewer state-owned strategic warheads exist and the risk of global […]
National Defense Magazine Story on Nuclear Triad Quotes Kingston Reif
In a Post-Cold War World, Uncertainty Surrounds Nuclear Triad By Valerie Insinna and Dan Parsons August 2013 The world is a very different place than it was in the 1950s, when the United States needed thousands of nuclear warheads and three ways to deliver them on target to keep the Soviet Union at bay. More […]
House floor action on the FY 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations bill
The House of Representatives yesterday approved the FY 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations bill (H.R. 2642) by a vote of 227-198. All but 8 Democrats voted against the bill.