Nuclear Issues

The authors offer three insights from Ukraine's path to denuclearization that may help deal with today’s proliferation challenges.

"Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are once again trading barbs over who has the right disposition to be president -- including who is best suited to have a "finger on the button. It is, of course, not unusual for candidates to critique each other's qualifications. But there is a good reason why assessing the candidates' judgment and temperament is particularly important: The president of the United States has complete authority over more than 1,000 nuclear weapons ready to launch...."

William H. Tobey, Matthew Bunn, and Nickolas Roth oppose proposed legislation that would prohibit funding for fixed radiation detectors to catch nuclear smugglers. They argue for a balanced program to defeat nuclear smuggling that includes strong security, effective law enforcement and intelligence work, and interdiction efforts and border controls backed by both fixed and mobile radiation detectors.

"In the dark days at the turn of the year, all but a few bits of U.S.-Russian cooperation to strengthen nuclear security in Russia came to a halt.  No longer, for now at least, will U.S. experts work with counterparts at major Russian nuclear facilities to implement better means to prevent insiders from stealing fissile material, or to improve accounting, so a theft would be quickly detected..."