The mid-August publication of the National Institute for Public Policy’s Minimum Deterrence: Examining the Evidence has re-invigorated the debate on America’s nuclear policy and on the concept of nuclear deterrence in general: Does it make sense in the 21st century? Can a ‘Deterrence Lite’ policy, hereafter called ‘Minimum Deterrence’ (MD), really work?
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Raising our sights in Syria
President Obama’s announcement on Saturday that he stands ready – before UN weapons inspectors report on their findings but contingent on Congressional consultation – to initiate military action against the Syrian regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons in Damascus two weeks ago, has received mixed reactions both in the US and further afield.
TacNukes News No. 6
A summary of news and analysis on tactical nuclear weapons.
Supporting President Obama on Nuclear Reductions
The year 2013 has not been an easy one for President Barack Obama. A formerly friendly media has started to ask hard questions, his supporters on the left accuse him of following the policy pathways of George W. Bush, and the right excoriates him for, well, living.
Looking beyond the U.S.- Russia stalemate
The decision last week to cancel President Obama’s September meeting in Russia with President Putin sparked a wave of questions among policy watchers.
BASIC News Spring-Summer 2013
BASIC closely monitored developments coming out of the recently released Trident Alternatives Review and continued to facilitate the final term of the Trident Commission. President Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin provided additional impetus for BASIC’s continuing engagement on U.S. and NATO nuclear posture issues. With ongoing uncertainties in the Middle East, BASIC followed the recent regime change in Egypt and has explored options for future work in the region.
The NATO Alliance: Rethinking Reassurance
Recently, BASIC hosted two events centered around NATO’s nuclear posture burden-sharing. One of the underlying concerns from representatives of NATO member-states was that of reassurance.
NATO’s future nuclear posture
This roundtable event held on July 25th, 2013 in Washington, D.C., included a small group of experts and representatives from a number of NATO member states. They discussed the future of NATO’s nuclear posture and engagement with Russia on arms control and nuclear weapons – building upon workshops previously held in Moscow and Brussels in 2012 and 2013.