Nuclear Issues

In a "policy memo" to President-elect Donald Trump, Graham Allison and Dimitri K. Simes write: "The two Chinese characters that make up the word “crisis” can be interpreted as meaning both “danger” and “opportunity.” Russia today offers your administration not only a serious challenge but a significant opportunity.

Russia is no longer the Evil Empire the United States confronted over decades of Cold War. Nonetheless, Russia remains a player whose choices affect vital U.S. interests profoundly across the agenda of global issues. First and foremost, Russia remains the only nation that can erase the United States from the map in thirty minutes.

On October 27, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing titled "Prevention of and Response to the Arrival of a Dirty Bomb at a U.S. Port."

The 2014 Nuclear Security Summit brought together dozens of world leaders focused on preventing nuclear terrorism. So, what was accomplished and what work remains to be done? One way of assessing this is to look at joint statements (also known as “gift baskets”) issued at the Summit in which participants pledged their support to nuclear security initiatives like enhancing radiological security or strengthening nuclear security implementation. These statements present opportunities for countries to endorse specific actions to strengthen nuclear security.

The collapse earlier this month of the government's case against an alleged terrorist sleeper cell in Detroit is just another example of the Justice Department's failed "arrest by headlines" philosophy in the war on terror.