For years, the United States and Israel have engaged in a covert effort to destabilize Iran’s government and sabotage its nuclear program. But these operations frequently escape mention in public discussions. By ignoring the covert effort, the current debate about the relative wisdom of diplomacy, sanctions, and preventive military action addresses an incomplete picture. To understand the challenges and potential of U.S.-Iranian relations, the covert program must be factored into the equation.
Would Dramatic Disarmament Impress Iran or Not?
Many believe that substantive disarmament measures on the part of the West would have no bearing on any aspirations Iran may have to nuclear weapons.
Do Nuclear Weapons Keep India and Pakistan From Each Other’s Throats?
Is the possession of nuclear weapons by India and Pakistan the second “successful” deterrence story after the Cold War?
How Will U.S. Handle Shortage of Tritium, aka Explosive Power, for Its Nukes?
The U.S. nuclear arsenal may soon experience a shortage of tritium, which enhances the explosive power of nuclear weapons. Tant pis.
It’s Not Nuclear Weapons That Need “Modernization,” But New START
The new START looks less like a disarmament treaty than a front behind which the government can funnel funds to the nuclear-weapons industry in perpetuity.
Is Chavez Following Iran Down the Radioactive Brick Road?
It might be easier to talk Venezuela off the nuclear-weapons ledge if the U.S. weren’t so intent on filling the coffers of its own nuclear-weapons industry.
For Pakistan, All Roads May Lead to U.S. and NATO Confiscation of Its Nukes
Pakistan seems to be in a double bind: Resist the United States and NATO and open the door to seizure of its nuclear-weapons program — or cooperate and suffer the same results.
No Mean Feat: Justifying Israel’s Nukes Without Acknowledging Them
Apparently it’s obvious to everyone but Israel and the United States that the Middle-East can’t take the first step to becoming a nuclear-weapons-free zone until Israel acknowledges its own program.
Gorbachev of the Pentagon?
The United States is facing a Soviet-sized crisis. Where is the Gorbachev who can rein in our military?
Public Mobilization for a Nuclear-Free World
One of the ironies of the current international situation is that, although some government leaders now talk of building a nuclear weapons-free world, there has been limited public mobilization around that goal — at least compared to the action-packed 1980s.