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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson listens as President Donald Trump announces that the United States will designate North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

News - The Economist

Donald Trump May Be Bluffing Over a Pre-Emptive Strike on North Korea

    Author:
  • David Rennie
| Jan. 25, 2018

The last time that America almost risked a pre-emptive strike on North Korea the gamble offered a spectacular pay-off. Ashton Carter, a leading architect of that plan, recalls that his scheme for bombing the Yongbyon nuclear facility in 1994 assumed that in one or two days the entirety of the regime’s nuclear programme could be levelled and entombed in rubble. Mr Carter, who went on to become defence secretary in the Obama administration, now thinks that an American first strike would only put “a significant dent” in North Korea’s arsenal of nuclear devices and bombmaking sites. “The difference today is that the North Koreans are very good at hiding, burying and moving around their nuclear infrastructure,” says Mr Carter, now at Harvard University.

Audio - National Review Online

For the Defense: Ash Carter

| Dec. 07, 2017

Ash Carter is a physicist and a defense-policy expert, having served in government periodically for decades. He was secretary of defense from 2015 to 2017. He has spent his academic career at Harvard, where he is today. In this “Q&A,” Jay Nordlinger asks him about some of the biggest issues: nuclear proliferation, North Korea, Iran, the size of the U.S. military. He also asks about the relation between our servicemen and the general American population. Is there too great a gulf between them? Do people sentimentalize our military? Is it okay to say “Thank you for your service”?

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Women in Combat

| Fall/Winter 2017-2018

On December 3, 2015, then Secretary of Defense Ash Carter made an announcement that would transform the U.S. military: all combat jobs in every branch of the military would be open to women. At a Harvard Kennedy School event this fall, Carter talked about his historic decision.

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

North Korea: Expert Analysis on Nuclear Tests and Threats

Matthew Bunn, Nicholas Burns, Ash Carter, John Park, Gary Samore, and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall provide expert analysis on nuclear tests and threats from North Korea.

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Analysis & Opinions - U.S. Department of Defense

The 2017 Budget: Taking the Long View, Investing for the Future

| Feb. 25, 2016

By working together, I am confident we can succeed, because in many ways we already have. If we think back to those defense investments and decisions that changed the course of our nation’s and our military’s history for the better — and not just in technologies like GPS, the Internet, and satellite communications, but also in other areas, like the all-volunteer force — they were all able to benefit our security and our society because they garnered support across the aisle, across branches of government, and across multiple administrations.