Washington-Moscow nuclear verification: Tensions and solutions
The outlook for further US-Russian arms control is not bright today, but both sides should develop new verification techniques in case unexpected breakthroughs occur.
Russia
Nuclear power plant of the future?
Russia’s floating power plant could help nuclear energy sink or swim.
Time for a nuclear pause agreement?
Nuclear arms control is in the deep freeze. But if nuclear-armed states temporarily commit not to conduct nuclear tests or produce fissile material for weapons, they can position themselves for an eventual thaw.
Putin: The one-man show the West doesn’t understand
This assessment of Russian President Vadimir Putin was written by Fiona Hill, at the time a senior fellow and director of the Center for the United States and Europe at The Brookings Institution; it was originally published in April 2016. Approximately a year later, Hill joined the Trump administration as the deputy assistant to the … Continued
Now it’s murder
On Sunday a 44-year-old British woman died from exposure to one of the nerve agents known as novichok, a class of chemical weapons made only by the Soviet Union and Russia. The victim, Dawn Sturgess, was a mother of three living in a facility for the homeless, not an obvious target of the Russian government, Russian … Continued
US Ground-based midcourse missile defense: Expensive and unreliable
The Trump administration is seeking a significant expansion in the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program – a missile defense system on which the United States has already spent some 67 billion. Since the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system was declared, more than 15 years ago, to have achieved initial operational capability, tests of the system have failed more … Continued
The vicissitudes of Russian missile defense
The Russian vision of ballistic missile defense has reflected the specifics of the Russian/Soviet political system and decision-making mechanisms, and it is entangled with Moscow’s peculiar perceptions of external military threats, nuclear deterrence, and conventional warfighting. In this article, the author attempts to answer three basic questions about that vision: What is Russia’s long-term aim … Continued
