Kim Jong-un Doubles Down on Nuclear Threat
OPINION — It should be crystal clear: North Korea has nuclear weapons not only for defensive deterrence purposes but, according to Kim Jong-un, to respond […] More
Nuclear
Time to Stop Wobbling and Learn to Love the Bomb
OPINION – In the 1964 movie, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, an insane U.S. general triggers nuclear […] More
What You Need to Know about U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Wartime
OPINION — The Biden administration has made rational decisions on nuclear weapons in both policy – through the soon-to-be-release 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) – […] More
April is likely to be a busy month for North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — On March 24, North Korea successfully launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) called the Hwasong-17. The missile flew for 68 minutes and […] More
Putting Guard Rails Around the Nuclear Option
OPINION — “I am told that there are responsible officials in Russia that, were he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] to push a nuclear button, they […] More
Deal or No Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program?
Bottom Line: After a several-day hiatus brought about by a now-withdrawn Russian demand concerning relief from newly imposed Western sanctions, JCPOA talks appear ready to […] More
JCPOA: If We Get to Agreement, what will it Mean?
After recent hurdles in the nearly year-long talks aimed at re-instituting the nuclear agreement with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), […] More
Nuclear Threats and the Game Changing Tactic in Ukraine
OPINION — The United States needs to publicly respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s coercive threats regarding nuclear weapons. Putin’s most recent coercive nuclear threat […] More
The Cost of Not Bringing the Pentagon into the Post-Cold War Era
OPINION — We are in a new kind of warfare with Russia and a little-noticed House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing last Tuesday showed, […] More
How Putin is Drawing the World into its Most Dangerous Time in History
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Putin has been sucked into the conquest and occupation of a hostile Ukraine; the very circumstance he has sought to avoid over […] More
A Picture of Putin’s Nuclear Option
OPINION — Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly threatened the use of his nuclear weapons and now has placed his nuclear deterrence forces on […] More
North Korea is Using Time to Perfect its Nuclear and Missile Programs
OPINION — The six missiles North Korea launched in January was a statement — and proof — that North Korea is upgrading its arsenal of missiles to […] More
Nuclear Weapons and the ‘Doublethink’ Conundrum
OPINION — As we await the Biden 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and the results of U.S.-Russian security talks that opened yesterday in Geneva, it’s […] More
A More Isolated and Unpredictable North Korea in 2022
This piece from Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joe DeTrani was first published in The Washington Times OPINION — Kim Jong Un, during his ten years of authoritarian rule […] More
What the Chinese Think They Know About US Nuclear Strategy
OPINION — Despite U.S. officials regularly voicing concern about lack of knowledge as to where China’s nuclear weapons program has been going, officials have known […] More
My Questions for the Biden Administration on the US’ Nuclear Posture
OPINION — Buried in the 2,165 pages of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022, scheduled to come up for a vote […] More
Lost in Translation: The U.S. and China’s Nuclear Ambitions
OPINION — During Monday’s dialogue, President Biden described Chinese President Xi Jinping as “a major world leader.” If, as Biden said, the United States accepts […] More
Nuclear ‘First Use’ and Where We Are Today
OPINION — The Biden 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), now in preparation, should focus on cutting un-needed nuclear weapons, and possibly reducing others. It should […] More