The Senate Drives a Nuclear Spending Spree
OPINION — “America’s defense strategy and strategic posture must change in order to properly defend its vital interests and improve strategic stability with China and […] More
nuclear weapons
Understanding China’s Growing Nuclear Arsenal
SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — As the United States mulls deploying nuclear-armed, sea-launched missiles as a deterrent to its adversaries, China is building and modernizing its […] More
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Program Sparks Debate Over Money – and Need
OPINION — “The SLCM-N [sub-launched nuclear cruise missile] is theoretically meant to assure our adversaries that we have the ability to respond in kind – […] More
Buildup, Tuneup and Cleanup: Inside the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Program
OPINION — “The [U.S.] nuclear weapons program of record grew from five to seven systems this past year.” That’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Administrator […] More
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The Dawn of Our Nuclear Wake-Up Call
OPINION – A list of proposals released last Thursday in the final report of the 12-member bipartisan Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the […] More
U.S.-Iran Stand-Off Hints of Old “Tanker War”
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – Less than a month ago, with global attention fixed on the Ukrainian offensive, U.S. Admiral James Stavridis (ret.) sought to open […] More
As America’s Nuclear Arsenal Upgrades, Usual Testing is Scrapped
OPINION — “U.S. [nuclear] warheads were designed and manufactured until the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then, we have not designed any new nuclear […] More
America Beefs Up Potential Response as Threat of Russian Nukes Loom
OPINION — Back in late February, four Boeing B-52H strategic bombers from the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (23rd EBS), based at Minot Air Force Base, […] More
As the War in Ukraine Intensifies, America’s Nuclear Policy Needs a Fresh Look
OPINION — “I believe improving our ability to deter and counter adversary limited nuclear use in a regional conflict is the single most important challenge […] More
North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Are a Threat to All Nations
OPINION — The Joint Statement of the Xi Jinping – Vladimir Putin summit expressed concern about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. That was an understatement. North […] More
Nuclear Weapons, Deterrence and What’s Next
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist at The Cipher Brief. Pincus spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on […] More
Where Biden Stands on Nuclear Weapons
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing […] More
The Fate of Nuclear Treaties
Bottom Line Up Front The U.S. has announced it will pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed in 1987. Washington’s departure […] More
North Korea’s Denuclearization: Is Cuba a Better Model than Libya?
A revised and improved “Cuba model” for denuclearizing North Korea might have gotten a more receptive ear from Pyongyang than US National Security Adviser John […] More
North Korea Talks: Falling for the Same Tricks, or Uncharted Waters?
After North Korea threatened to withdraw from the upcoming face-to-face summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, some media outlets reported that Trump […] More
Best Of: Fault on Both Sides: 25 Years of North Korea Negotiations
North Korea has threatened to pull out of planned talks between leaders Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, citing opposition to U.S. demands for […] More
Threat Report 2018: North Korea’s Nuclear Doctrine
Months of fruitful engagement between North Korea, South Korea and the United States may soon turn sour. Yesterday, Pyongyang warned that ongoing joint military exercises […] More
President Trump Announces Withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA, and re-impose harsh sanctions on Iran—including […] More
North Korea: From Wishful Thinking to ‘Possible’
The Panmunjom Declaration gives us hope that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is possible. The Summit of South Korean President Moon Jae-in with North Korea’s […] More