Geostrategic Nuclear Exports: The Competition for Influence in Saudi Arabia
Tristan Volpe and Nicholas Miller | War on the Rocks
In December 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower announced that Washington would begin sharing nuclear materials and technology with other nations for peaceful purposes—what became known as the Atoms for Peace program. Although there were multiple motivations for this decision, U.S. officials believed sharing nuclear technology would strengthen bonds with allies and help America compete with the Soviets for the allegiance of nonaligned countries. This geopolitical competition persisted throughout the Cold War, as Washington and Moscow sought to expand their political influence through nuclear exports.
Exclusive: U.N. Chief Plans Major Disarmament Push but U.S. Skeptical
Tom Miles | Reuters
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is to launch a major push for disarmament talks covering everything from nuclear and cyber war to small arms, braving certain U.S. resistance to such bold initiatives, officials and experts told Reuters.
Mattis: Plans for New U.S. Nuclear Weapon Could be Bargaining Chip With Russia
Paul Sonne | Washington Post
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis offered a justification for the Pentagon’s amped-up nuclear weapons policy, saying that at least one of two new nuclear arms the U.S. military wants to introduce could be used as a bargaining chip with the Russians. Mattis, who testified Tuesday before the House Armed Services Committee, entered the Pentagon last year with questions about the military’s plans to overhaul the nuclear arsenal. He wondered whether the United States needed to retain its Cold War-era intercontinental ballistic missile silos or approve a new air-launched cruise missile.
The Discrimination Problem: Why Putting Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons on Submarines is So Dangerous
Vipin Narang | War on the Rocks
The United States has the most diverse and potent nuclear force on the planet, capable of deterring and, if necessary, defeating and destroying any military and any nation on earth. The Trump administration’s recently released Nuclear Posture Review doesn’t think that’s enough. Going beyond the modernization program that upgrades and maintains the existing force, the document calls for a variety of capabilities and missions for American nuclear forces that have long been on Republicans’ wish list.
Pence, in Tokyo, Threatens Tough Penalties for North Korea
Mark Landler | New York Times
Vice President Mike Pence, dispatched to Asia to blunt a North Korean charm offensive at South Korea's Olympic Games, said Wednesday that the United States planned to levy the toughest sanctions yet on the North over its nuclear and missile programs.
Chairman of Nuclear Weapons Oversight Agency Steps Down Amid Internal Turmoil
Patrick Malone | Center for Public Integrity
The chairman of a federal oversight agency responsible for safety at nuclear weapos facilities has stepped down amid turmoil over both his management and his recommendation to President Trump that the agency be abolished.