Energy

"Imagine a visitor from Mars looking at the cards each player holds. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, our Martian would be wise to bet on the US. It holds four aces that are likely to outlast the Trump administration."

Many Chinese worry that as Japanese politics moves rightward, it could result in the country seeking its own weapons. Beijing's concerns have intensified with its confrontation with the Abe administration over historical recognition and territorial issues. In this op-ed, Hui Zhang argues that it is time for Tokyo to stop reprocessing and eliminate its surplus plutonium as soon as possible. Tokyo should address concerns over its reprocessing plans and plutonium stocks. To reduce suspicions, Tokyo should take specific steps to abide strictly by its "no surplus plutonium policy".

"...[T]he subtext of this second presidential debate was all Ohio, all the time. At every opportunity the two candidates came back to the three C's that matter in Ohio — cars, China and coal. If this seemed a little strange to everyone else in the country it made perfect sense in the dynamic of this campaign....By the time the second debate rolled around last night, though Obama still held an edge in the electoral college, the race had gotten so close that it looked like it was coming down to who could win Ohio."

Ashton B. Carter, William J. Perry, and John M. Shalikashvili address the danger of loose nukes in North Korea in this Wall Street Journal op-ed.