Navigation
-
Recent Posts
Archives
- September 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- 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
The Ukrainian Crisis: Time to Think Things Through!
Yesterday’s post noted that the number of Russians fearing nuclear war had more than doubled in the last two years, from 8% to 17%. Adding to the risk that the Ukrainian crisis could escalate to nuclear threats, the top story in today’s New York Times is headlined “U.S. Considers Supplying Arms to Kiev Forces.” Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged critical thinking, martin hellman, nuclear risk, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, putin, russia, stanford, ukraine
1 Comment
An Important Leap Forward in US National Security
US national security took an important, but little noted leap forward yesterday when President Obama announced the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba. Most of the media coverage focused on the economic and political consequences of this bold move, and what little I’ve seen on its national security implications quotes opponents as calling it “appeasement.” This is a clear reference to Britain’s vain attempts to mollify Hitler prior to World War II, and therefore an attempt to slam Obama’s move as naive and dangerous. So why do I maintain that his move did the opposite and, instead, dramatically improved our national security? Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged critical thinking, Cuba, cuban missile crisis, martin hellman, nuclear risk, nuclear weapons, Obama, stanford
Leave a comment
Foreign Policy Lessons Applied to Iran
Harvard Professor of International Relations Stephen M. Walt has an excellent article at Foreign Policy, entitled “The Top 5 Foreign Policy Lessons of the Past 20 Years.” I’ve included some short excerpts after my signature line, and encourage you to read … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged critical thinking, iran, martin hellman, nuclear proliferation, nuclear weapons, Stephen Walt, war and peace
Leave a comment
John Oliver on Nuclear Weapons
As the movie Dr. Strangelove shows, comedy may be the best way to break through society’s reluctance to face the risks posed by nuclear weapons. In that tradition, I highly recommend John Oliver’s recent comedy routine about nuclear weapons. Well done, John!! Please share this with friends. If enough of us do that, who knows what effect it might have? Maybe we’d even come to our senses?
Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged john oliver, martin hellman, nuclear risk, nuclear weapons, stanford, strangelove
Leave a comment
What Are Acceptable Nuclear Risks?
When I read Eric Schlosser’s acclaimed 2013 book, Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, I found a tantalizing revelation on pages 170-171, when it asked, “What was the ‘acceptable’ probability of an accidental nuclear explosion?” and then proceeded to describe a 1957 Sandia Report, “Acceptable Premature Probabilities for Nuclear Weapons,” which dealt with that question. Continue reading
Ukraine and Nuclear Risk
The Ukrainian crisis and Putin’s annexation of Crimea badly soured Russian-American relations. But an even more dangerous situation would result should Putin move Russian troops into additional portions of the eastern Ukraine. Certain events that are almost unknown in America increase the chance that will happen. In its own small way, this post hopes to combat that lack of information and thereby reduce the risk that the Ukrainian crisis will escalate further – potentially even to nuclear threats. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged critical thinking, martin hellman, nuclear risk, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, Obama, putin, russia, stanford, ukraine, war and peace
Leave a comment
Is the Ukrainian Crisis Spiraling Out of Control?
Today’s news indicates a heightened nuclear risk due to a dangerous feedback process at work in the Ukraine. The New York Times’ page 1 ominous headline was, “Striking Town, Ukraine Forces Defy Warning,” and the Wall Street Journal echoed that warning, “Ukraine Sends Troops East As Pro-Russia Forces Strike.” Is the Ukrainian crisis spiraling out of control, and if so, what might we do to reverse that dangerous process? Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cold war, critical thinking, martin hellman, nuclear risk, nuclear weapons, putin, stanford, ukraine, Yanukovych
3 Comments
