With decreasing transparency and increasing tensions in the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear ambitions are constantly in the news. How close is Iran to a nuclear weapon, and how should the United States approach Iran’s nuclear program? In this episode, we explore past diplomacy related to Iran’s nuclear program and ways to move forward. Program Coordinator […]
Trump’s “Iron Dome”: The Math Isn’t Good
Senior Policy Director John Erath spoke with Mother Jones on the problems and costs associate with an “Iron Dome” defense system protecting the United States. Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute put the likely cost at somewhere between $11 and $27 billion for such a system—and pointed out that despite all that money, the system would only […]
Op-ed: Hypersonic Overhype
Research Analyst Shawn Rostker wrote an op-ed in RealClear Defense on the lacking utility of hypersonic missiles. The United States has been exploring research and development of hypersonic weapons technologies for decades. Historically, such funding has been relatively modest, but in recent years the Department of Defense (DoD) has grown more vocal in its desire to accelerate development and […]
Op-ed: North Korea in Ukraine: What It Means for the World
Senior Policy Director John Erath wrote an op-ed in The Diplomat about North Korean troops in Ukraine. In October 2024, the news broke that North Korea was sending troops to Russia to participate in Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Although most international responses to this development involved condemnation of this latest escalation, there was also […]
Putting America First: 3 Practical Suggestions for the New (Old) Administration
By John Erath It is 2025, and with the New Year, we will see a change in government in the United States, with the return of the Trump administration. Nuclear issues seem to have taken greater urgency since 2021, particularly given the war in Ukraine and China’s buildup, but they did not feature much in the […]
