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US nuclear forces, 2013

By Hans M. Kristensen, Robert S. Norris

Kennette Benedict

Science, art, and the legacy of Martyl

Artist Martyl Langsdorf, who died last month, gave the world the Doomsday Clock and a new consciousness about nuclear weapons.

Citizen cybersecurity

The public should get a say in how the government conducts cyber war.

Democracy and the bomb

The election may be over, but the time for the real work of democracy is just beginning. When it comes to nuclear weapons, in fact, it may be time for citizens to make their voices heard directly -- instead of allowing a small circle of strategists and officials make decisions for us.

Buying climate stability

Moral arguments, fearsome data, and many of the world's scientists aren't moving the ball forward on climate change. Maybe governments around the globe should just buy the change the planet needs.

Civil disobedience

The protesters at the Oak Ridge nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee exposed a startling gap in security. They also provided a reminder of what a generation of people can do when they put their minds to it.

Mind the gaps between climate science and social policy

Scientists studying global warming have provided the world with the evidence and knowledge necessary to attempt to solve the climate crisis. Unfortunately, these are deep schisms between climate science and the public, climate science and social science, and climate science and policy.

Stuxnet and the Bomb

The cyber shot heard around the world this month marked America's first known foray into a new, unpredictable, and potentially society-threatening cyber battlefield. And yet it's all so familiar: Parallels with the start of the nuclear age and the Cold War haunt every aspect of this development.

Dream deterred

A little-noticed document reports on the failure of the latest iteration of missile defense. So why are NATO officials still harboring missile defense fantasies? And why is a disproved technological daydream creating a very real diplomatic nightmare for NATO and Russia?

Nuclear security begins at home

While the United States has been consumed with Iran's quest for nuclear weapons capability, it has ignored one of the greatest threats to global security: its own nuclear arsenal.

Zone defense

Despite conflict and revolutions in the region, now is the perfect time to get to work on a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East. Setting expectations for achieving a regional goal before nationalist vitriol kicks in could end an incipient arms race before it begins.

Nunn-Lugar: 20 years of Cooperative Threat Reduction

Why one of the most significant and successful postwar initiatives in history is not getting the attention it deserves.

A democratic theory of disarmament

Democratic participation in nuclear weapons policy requires that governments lift the veil of secrecy from nuclear forces, reveal their real costs, and provide honest accounts about the terrible effects of nuclear bombs.

The banality of death by nuclear power

The US government is fervently tracking down terrorists to ensure citizens' safety. Why won't it put the same effort into protecting Americans from nuclear reactor disasters?

Fukushima and the Doomsday Clock

As the world confronts a nuclear disaster in Japan, the Bulletin reexamines the criteria that keep the Doomsday Clock ticking. Will Fukushima inch the minute hand forward?

The road not taken: Can Fukushima put us on a path toward nuclear transparency?

The origins of civilian nuclear power positioned our society, and the nuclear industry, to favor military needs and financial gain over public understanding. Until this approach is changed, history will continue to repeat itself in devastating ways.

Profile

Kennette Benedict

Benedict has served as the Bulletin's executive director and publisher since 2005. From 1992-2005, she directed the international peace and security program at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, where she also established and directed the foundation’s initiative in the former Soviet Union. Before joining the foundation in 1987, she taught at Rutgers University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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