Pakistan: Challenges for U.S. Interests
Toby Dalton
In my remarks today I will try to provide a clear-eyed assessment of the challenges to U.S. policy posed specifically by developments in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and what they mean for U.S. interests in South Asia. Though obvious, it is worth underscoring the point that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program does not exist in a vacuum. Nuclear weapons are central to Pakistan’s security-seeking behavior in a region it considers to be enduringly hostile.
America's New Nuclear-Armed Missile Could Cost $85 Billion
Anthony Capaccio | Bloomberg
The U.S. Air Force’s program to develop and field a new intercontinental ballistic missile to replace the aging Minuteman III in the nuclear arsenal is now projected to cost at least $85 billion, about 36 percent more than a preliminary estimate by the service. Even the $85 billion calculated by the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office is a placeholder number that’s at the low end of potential costs, according to an Aug.
Debate on Iran Sanctions Reignites
Julian Hattem and Katie Bo Williams | Hill
Lawmakers are plunging into another fight over Iran sanctions with economic restrictions on the country set to expire at the end of the year. Both parties acknowledge that there are enough votes in the House and Senate to renew the sanctions — but the agreement ends there.
Photos Show Nuclear Facilities in Dangerous Disrepair
Nicole Gaouette and Barbara Starr | CNN
US nuclear security facilities are dangerously decrepit and putting national security goals at risk, according to nuclear officials who are asking Congress to back the administration's push to modernize the system. Nuclear officials described critical utility, safety and support systems that are failing at an increasing and unpredictable rate, as well as their efforts to patch the system together until the necessary funding can be found to reinvigorate the system.
Sarmat ICBM: 8 Megatons at Hypersonic Speeds, Arriving 2 Years Ahead of Schedule
Sputnik News
On Monday, a defense industry official told Russian media that the mass production of the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new multi-warhead, super-heavy missile designed to defeat anti-missile systems, would begin in 2018, two years ahead of schedule. Defense analyst Vladimir Tuchkov explains what made this possible.
On 9/11, StratCom Leaders Were Practicing for a Fictional Threat When Real, Unprecedented Catastrophe Struck
Steve Liewer | Omaha World Herald
Even before terrorists crashed hijacked jets into the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon out of a blue September sky, Al Buckles was getting ready for Armageddon. On Sept. 11, 2001, a giant exercise called Global Guardian occupied Buckles and the rest of the U.S. Strategic Command’s staff at Offutt Air Force Base, along with military personnel at several other U.S. bases.