Navigation
-
Recent Posts
Archives
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- November 2013
- October 2013
- August 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
Tag Archives: nuclear weapons
US Unwittingly Encouraging North Korea’s Nuclear Program
While encouraging nuclear proliferation is one of the last things we want to do, we couldn’t be doing a better job if we tried. Every time we engage in regime change, we give would-be proliferators one more reason to seek nuclear weapons of their own. What other way do they have of deterring our much more powerful military from toppling them at some future date? Continue reading
A More Effective Approach to North Korea’s Nuclear Program
North Korea appears to have conducted its third nuclear test today, with a New York Times article stating, “a magnitude 3.9 magnitude earthquake and a magnitude 4.5 earthquake were detected in the North’s 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests. South Korean, U.S. and Japanese seismic monitoring agencies put the magnitude of Tuesday’s quake between 4.9 and 5.2.” Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged martin hellman, north korea, nuclear risk, nuclear test, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, siegfried hecker, stanford
Leave a comment
Does Nuclear Deterrence Deter?
A few years ago, my wife pointed out that whoever coined the term nuclear deterrence was a marketing genius: it implies that threatening to destroy the world will deter behavior we don’t like. But what happens if nuclear deterrence morphs … Continue reading
India Warns Kashmiris to Prepare for a Nuclear Attack
One of the likeliest flash points for a nuclear war is the enduring conflict between India and Pakistan, which have scores of nuclear weapons. In recent weeks, several fatal incidents across the disputed Kashmir border have stoked new fears that the firing of bullets could escalate into something even worse. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged india, india-pakistan war, kashmir, martin hellman, nuclear deterrence, nuclear risk, nuclear weapons, pakistan, stanford
3 Comments
Could Japan Drag America into War with China?
Several earlier posts on this blog have highlighted the risk that China and Japan might come to blows over a few tiny, uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. One pathway to war is inadvertent escalation as a result of both nations sending jet fighters over the disputed territory. As noted in an an article in yesterday’s New York Times: Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged china, Diaoyu, japan, martin hellman, nuclear risk, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, Senkaku, stanford, war and peace
2 Comments
An American Dagger Pointed at Russia’s Heart?
The Magnitsky Bill and the Russian “anti-Magnitsky Bill” seem like petty squabbling, but a recent article in The National Interest (a publication of the Nixon Center, so it’s not left wing) maintains that the Magnitsky Bill is “a dagger pointed at the heart of Russia’s existing governmental structure.” Here are the most relevant excerpts: Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anti-Magnitsky Bill, Dima Yakovlev, Jackson-Vanik, Magnitsky Bill, martin hellman, nuclear risk, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, russia
1 Comment
Are We Winning the War on War?
My January 5 post, “A Hopeful Side to Human Nature,” presented evidence which indicates that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the better angels of our nature may be winning the war on war. Today’s Wall Street Journal had an article which adds to that evidence. It starts off: Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged better angels, beyond war, martin hellman, max boot, nuclear risk, nuclear weapons, stanford, winning the war on war
Leave a comment
Poking the Russian Bear: A New Cold War?
The Jackson-Vanik Amendment and the Magnitsky Bill are almost unknown in this country, but are frequently cited in Russia as proof that the US is stuck in a Cold War mentality. NYU Russian Studies Prof. Stephen Cohen cites these issues as key elements in what he calls “America’s New Cold War With Russia.” Here’s a quick, simplified time line: Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cold war, Dima Yakovlev, Jackson-Vanik, Magnitsky, martin hellman, nuclear deterrence, nuclear risk, nuclear weapons, stanford
Leave a comment
A Hopeful Side to Human Nature
Soon after December’s Newton, CT, school massacre, Prof. Marc Bekoff wrote an article for Psychology Today which argued that human violence is almost unique within the animal kingdom. Bekoff recommended that we “rewild our hearts.” Jane Goodall, who has observed chimpanzee behavior for decades, co-authored a reply in today’s Wall Street Journal which comes to a very different, but very hopeful conclusion. Continue reading
