Representative Edward Markey (D–MA) has grave misconceptions regarding contributions that nuclear weapons make to the U.S. and allied national security. On Wednesday, he introduced a bill that would cut $100 billion in nuclear weapons programs. This bill is co-sponsored by 34 other Representatives. Not only would such cuts be disastrous for the already under-funded U.S. nuclear weapons infrastructure; they would also call into question U.S. commitment to extended deterrence and viability of the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (New START) with the Russian Federation. In addition, the proposed cuts would …
President Obama is working hard to make a Russian dream of a superior nuclear weapons arsenal come true, writes Heritage’s James Carafano in his most recent op-ed. “The White House has made clear that its signature tool for combating nuclear proliferation is leading by example, and that example is disarmament,” he writes. The Administration, however, runs a risk of ending its path to disarmament in nuclear fallout. America’s arsenal of strong and reliable nuclear weapons has prevented countries around the world from developing or significantly expanding their own nuclear capabilities. …
The Obama Administration is preparing for a next round of negotiations on nuclear weapons with the Russian Federation. This is likely going to a difficult and unsuccessful endeavor. On Wednesday, The Heritage Foundation hosted the event “After New START: Next Round?” featuring Ambassador Henry Cooper, former director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) in the George H.W. Bush Administration; Mark Schneider, senior analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy; and Heritage’s Baker Spring. This event was a major contribution to the discussion about negative consequences of the Obama …
The Obama Administration just rolled out its Defense Strategic Guidance (DSG), which outlines priorities of the U.S. military after the Budget Control Act of 2011. While it will have significant negative impact for the entire U.S. force structure, readiness, and training, the DSG mentions nuclear weapons to state that “it is possible that our deterrence goals can be achieved with a smaller nuclear force.” This is a mark of a wishful, rather than strategic, thinking. In addition, there is no justification as to why the document arrived at this conclusion. …
In the latest exercise in fact-twisting, General Nikolai Makarov, Russian Chief of the General Staff, said that Russia is being pushed toward an arms race because of U.S. plans to deploy missile defenses in Europe. Markarov continued, “We are prepared to cooperate, to build a missile defense together. Why don’t they meet us halfway?” In fact, the United States has gone more than half way, and similar accusations are nothing but an exercise in bellicose rhetoric. These and similar threats are an attempt to restrain the U.S. missile defense capability. …
The United States should cut its nuclear weapons capabilities to contribute to deficit reduction, writes Michael O’Hanlon, director of research in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. O’Hanlon qualifies this opinion by stating that “our strategic forces should remain as large as Russia’s.” Yet these two statements are mutually exclusive, as the United States is already below Russia’s numbers—considering Russia’s advantage in nuclear short-range systems. Cutting funding for the nuclear weapons complex would only make the situation worse, both qualitatively and quantitatively, as the Russians are vigorously modernizing their nuclear …
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) long-awaited report on Iran’s nuclear program was released today, confirming longstanding suspicions that Iran has made substantial progress in its nuclear weapons program. The IAEA’s quarterly report concluded: The Agency has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme. After assessing carefully and critically the extensive information available to it, the Agency finds the information to be, overall, credible. The information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device. The IAEA report urged Tehran …
Moscow has shown yet again that it is determined to protect Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Russia and China have asked Yukiya Amano, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) director general, to stall U.S.-backed plans to publicize information on Iran’s nuclear program. This information is available in a diplomatic note acquired by the Associated Press. As the leaked IAEA document suggests, Moscow and Beijing should not provide international cover to Tehran’s burgeoning nuclear program. Even the Soviets knew better than that. The “reset” policy paradigm between U.S. and Russia continues to …
A recent New York Times editorial is turning one of the significant nuclear weapons’ benefits for the U.S. national security on its head, charging that the nuclear weapons budget is “bloated.” This is simply incorrect. Nuclear forces have been very cost effective relative to conventional forces and historically have consumed less than 5 percent of the Department of Defense’s budget. After the end of the Cold War, the funding for nuclear weapons infrastructure plummeted. For instance, the U.S. has not developed a new warhead or delivery vehicle for the past …
Recent news reports have highlighted Chinese construction of a system of underground tunnels and raised serious questions about what they might imply regarding China’s nuclear capabilities. One story highlighted that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) may have some 3,000 miles of tunnels, sufficient to move systems underground across the breadth of the country. Much of this was apparently dug by the Second Artillery Force, which is responsible for China’s nuclear forces, so the assumption is that many of these tunnels are related to China’s nuclear deterrent. The most commonly …
