Nuclear Notebook: The long view—Strategic arms control after the New START Treaty
This Nuclear Notebook examines the topic of strategic arms control after the expiration of the New START Treaty in February 2026.
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An expert proposal: How to limit presidential authority to order the use of nuclear weapons
The United States should modify its decision-making procedures to require that one or more officials concur with a presidential order to use nuclear weapons before the military carries it out. Implementing such a requirement is readily accomplished using a tracking system operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Do tactical nukes break international law?
Even using the lowest-yield nuclear weapons would inflict superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering—breaching a fundamental principle of the law of war.
Coronavirus overview: How political ideology and governmental incompetence can kill you
America First and its Russian and Chinese analogs may be temporarily profitable in terms of domestic political benefit for sloganeering national leaders. As the coronavirus pandemic is making clear, however, nationalistic ideologies can be dangerous to human health, sometimes on a vast scale.
Five reasons why the US should not withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty
Opponents of the Open Skies Treaty push for a US withdrawal, claiming that the treaty is outdated and no longer supports the national security interests of the United States, since it only strengthens Russia’s espionage capabilities. Here’s what they miss.
Hanoi Summit: Where were the women?
Based on the pictures from the second Trump-Kim summit, it looks like the women who spent the most time in the room where the leaders met were the interpreters. This is a far cry from previous administrations that had women running or helping to run nuclear negotiations—Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, Wendy Sherman, and Rose Gottemoeller, … Continued
Questions for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission confirmation hearings
What should senators ask the nominees?
Question for the candidates: How many nuclear warheads does the United States need?
Tom Z. Collina, a national security expert and former director of policy at the Ploughshares Fund, proposes a single, central question about nuclear weapons that journalists and citizens should ask the 2024 presidential candidates.
Nuclear Notebook: United States nuclear weapons, 2023
At the beginning of 2023, the US Department of Defense maintained an estimated stockpile of approximately 3,708 nuclear warheads for delivery by ballistic missiles and aircraft. Most of the warheads in the stockpile are not deployed but rather stored for potential upload onto missiles and aircraft as necessary. We estimate that approximately 1,770 warheads are … Continued
From denial to delay: How the oil industry refined its strategy on climate
No longer able to outright deny the reality of climate change, the fossil fuel industry pivoted to obfuscation.
Rethinking nuclear security for a world free of nuclear weapons
Two new approaches could help shift the frame of reference on nuclear weapons and provide the basis for their total elimination.
Dealing with climate change requires more fight and less flight
As the climate worsens, affluent Americans are thinking about where to move. That’s a privilege many people don’t have.
About last night’s fracking comments in the debate
No, Biden won’t ban fracking, because he can’t—90 percent of fracking occurs on state and private land. What a US president can do is actually enforce (gasp!) regulations within the EPA’s and the BLM’s power.
Arms control 2.0? With open source tools, desktop sleuths can go where governments won’t
The steady undermining of arms control agreements provides an opportunity to rethink how governments and citizens promote transparency and military cooperation using 21st century technologies.
Bad moonshot rising: The moon’s dubious strategic value
Beating China to an objective that the United States aleady achieved 50 years ago would win few hearts or minds. It's an aim that seems of dubious worth in an international landscape defined more by geo-economic than ideological competition.
One step back, two steps forward: Moving on from Hanoi
I watched the second summit between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un with a mixed sense of wonder and dread. After years of advocating for both sides to abandon saber-rattling for diplomacy, it was a reparative experience merely to see positive interactions between North Koreans and Americans transpire in real time. Images of conflict … Continued
Landmark climate trial is on again
The federal government has tried repeatedly to have the kids’ climate case dismissed, but it is once again headed for trial.
How to tell if North Korea is serious about denuclearization
Pyongyang may offer many measures, but only a few will indicate real readiness to give up nuclear weapons.
Time to insert the control rods on North Korea
Cool-headed individuals on both sides can help diffuse the dangerous rise in tension between Washington and Pyongyang.
North Korean nuclear test shows steady advance: interview with Siegfried Hecker
An eminent American plutonium scientist weighs in on Kim Jong-un’s powerful recent nuclear test.