By Samuel M. Hickey As diplomats break in the middle of the eighth round of talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), there remains a clear sense that the pace of diplomacy lags dangerously behind Iran’s advancing nuclear program. A Senior State Department official briefing […]
Ukraine and Deterrence
By John Erath Two weeks ago, the Center hosted a briefing for Congressional staff on the Russia-Ukraine standoff, featuring two leading experts on the region. Such briefings are an important element of our mission, connecting lawmakers with the specific knowledge that will (hopefully) lead to informed decision making. Despite everyone’s preoccupation with the holiday season, […]
Front and Center, December 18, 2021
DISAPPOINTING FY 2022 DEFENSE POLICY BILL SENT TO BIDEN More than two and a half months into the fiscal year, Congressional leaders finally hammered out a deal on the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that authorizes programs and policies at the Pentagon, NNSA, and other defense activities. The final “compromise” version of the […]
Iran Nuclear Talks: Limited Progress in Vienna going into the Holidays
By Samuel M. Hickey Following a five-month hiatus from nuclear talks, there has been little diplomatic progress between Iran and the members of the P4+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom) since the return to Vienna on Nov. 29. The common criticism is that the new Raisi administration pocketed any compromise solutions put on the table during the first […]
Op-ed: In Ukraine, Putin tries his hand at nuclear blackmail. Here are seven ways to thwart him.
Senior Policy Director John Erath wrote an op-ed in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists about how the United States and its allies can counter the threat from Russia and lower the risk of nuclear proliferation and confrontation. “It is December 2021, and Russia is threatening Ukraine. Again. Since the 2014 seizure of Crimea and […]