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Nuclear Weapons

The Real Impact of a Nuclear Bomb

Walter Pincus

The Real Impact of a Nuclear Bomb

FINE PRINT / OPINION — “This report explores the environmental effects and societal and economic consequences that would be expected to follow in the [...] More

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U.S. Nuclear Weapons Program Sparks Debate Over Money - and Need

Walter Pincus

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 [...] More

NuclearWalter Pincus

Buildup, Tuneup and Cleanup: Inside the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Program

Walter Pincus

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 [...] More

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The Dawn of Our Nuclear Wake-Up Call

Walter Pincus

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 [...] More

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U.S.-Iran Stand-Off Hints of Old "Tanker War"

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 [...] More

Middle EastAmericasIranNorth AmericaUnited StatesReporting

As America's Nuclear Arsenal Upgrades, Usual Testing is Scrapped

Walter Pincus

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 [...] More

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America Beefs Up Potential Response as Threat of Russian Nukes Loom 

Walter Pincus

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 [...] More

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As the War in Ukraine Intensifies, America's Nuclear Policy Needs a Fresh Look

Walter Pincus

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 [...] More

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North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Are a Threat to All Nations

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

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 [...] More

AsiaNorth KoreaChinaNuclearAmbassador Joseph DeTrani

Nuclear Weapons, Deterrence and What's Next

Walter Pincus

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 [...] More

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Where Biden Stands on Nuclear Weapons

Walter Pincus

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 [...] More

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The Fate of Nuclear Treaties

Intel Brief

The Fate of Nuclear Treaties

Bottom Line Up FrontThe U.S. has announced it will pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed in 1987.Washington’s [...] More

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North Korea's Denuclearization: Is Cuba a Better Model than Libya?

Ambassador Gary Grappo

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 [...] More

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