Trump's Nuclear Options: Upcoming Review Casts a Wide Net
Aaron Mehta | Defense News
On Dec. 22, just weeks from taking office, then President-elect Donald Trump shook the military and nuclear communities by tweeting out that the U.S. "must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes." It was a stunning statement, as the push to limit expansion of atomic arms has been a cornerstone of American policy since the height of the Cold War. But Trump doubled down the next
Defense, Intelligence Officials Caution White House on Terrorist Designation for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
Karen DeYoung | Washington Post
Senior defense and intelligence officials have cautioned the White House that a proposal to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization could endanger U.S. troops in Iraq and the overall fight against the Islamic State, and would be an unprecedented use of a law that was not designed to sanction government institutions.
Trump Admin Eyes Opportunity to Squash Iran, China, N. Korea Missile Threats
Adam Kredo | Washington Free Beacon
The newly installed Trump administration is eyeing an opportunity to revamp the U.S. domestic missile defense system to combat evolving threats posed by Iran, China, North Korea, and other rogue regimes, according to senior White House officials and new congressional communication disclosing how nations across the globe are "working diligently to exploit the many gaps and seams" in America's current defenses.
Merkel Forced to Deny Germany Planning to Lead a European Nuclear Superpower
Justin Huggler | Telegraph
The German government has been forced to deny it is interested in acquiring nuclear weapons amid calls for it to lead a European “nuclear superpower”. “There are no plans for nuclear armament in Europe involving the federal government,” a spokesman for Angela Merkel said. The highly unusual statement comes amid growing calls for the European Union to invest in its own nuclear deterrent in the wake of President Donald Trump’s comments that Nato is “obsolete”.
The Future of Nuclear Weapons Will Be Networked
Leigh Giangreco | Flight Global
When the US Air Force’s Northrop Grumman B-21 bomber talks to the long-range standoff (LRSO) weapon, it will mark the first time a nuclear cruise missile communicates digitally with its delivery aircraft. The USAF knows its next generation of nuclear weapons will be linked to a network. What it does not know is who else might be able to communicate with its most tenuous arsenal.
SOCOM Will Soon Lead the Pentagon’s Anti-WMD Efforts. Here’s What It Still Needs
Daniel M. Gerstein | Defense One
U.S. Special Operations Command will soon begin coordinating the Pentagon’s efforts to counter weapons of mass destruction, which means the command is going to need new kinds of expertise and capacity. This shift will require more than moving existing capabilities between commands. The challenge will be to elevate nonproliferation, counter-proliferation, and consequence management synchronization activities for disparate risks — think Fukishima nuclear disaster, Ebola public health emergency, Syria chemical weapons destruction and loose nukes — in a single command that is already engaged with a global counterterrorism campaign.