By: Lauren Prudente, Columnist Photo Credit: PBS During his own presidential campaign in 2011, former Texas Governor Rick Perry infamously forgot the name of the Department of Energy (DOE) when listing the three agencies he would eliminate. Now, Governor Perry is poised to become the next Secretary of Energy, pending Senate confirmation, and has admitted … Continue reading Why the United States Should Maintain Civilian Control of Its Nuclear Complex
Category: Nuclear & Unconventional Weapons
Islamist Terrorism: An Existential Threat to the United States?
Photo Credit: The Daily Beast By: Cillian Muldoon, Associate Editor for the Middle East The threat posed by Islamist terrorist organizations, like al-Qa‘ida (AQ) and ISIS, can most aptly be framed by considering that terrorism’s primary objective rests less on the immediate damage inflicted by an attack, and more on the reaction—by policymakers, societies, and … Continue reading Islamist Terrorism: An Existential Threat to the United States?
An Open Letter to the US President-elect: Remember One Korea
A child suffering from malnutrition rests in a bed in a hospital in Haeju on Sept. 30, 2011. Editor's note: These images were taken on a government controlled tour. Photo Credit: NBC (Damir Sagolj, Reuters) By: Grace M. Kang, Esq., Guest Contributor Dear President-elect Trump, I urge you, as the next President of the only … Continue reading An Open Letter to the US President-elect: Remember One Korea
Deal or No Deal: What Should Be the Fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action?
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons By: Farnaz Alimehri, Columnist The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 has been labeled one of the Obama Administration’s culminating achievements in foreign policy and nonproliferation. Despite the successful negotiation and implementation of this agreement by all parties last year, political divisions in the United States … Continue reading Deal or No Deal: What Should Be the Fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action?
Banning Killer Robots? A Way Forward
Photo Credit: Military.com By: Paul Kumst, Columnist The upcoming Fifth Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) may set the stage for a preventive ban of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), also referred to as “Killer Robots.” However, a variety of factors make it doubtful that a capable and committed Group of … Continue reading Banning Killer Robots? A Way Forward
Bioterror: The Known Unknown
Photo Credit: NPR By: Shannon Mizzi, Columnist It is increasingly clear that nation states no longer have a monopoly on biological weapons. At the same time, new technology is making the information and equipment needed to create them cheaper and more accessible. Both state and non-state actors could weaponize known bacteria or viruses such as … Continue reading Bioterror: The Known Unknown
CRISPR—A Rogue One?
Photo Credit: MIT Technology Review By: Paul Kumst, Columnist Released in February 2016, the Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment of the US Intelligence Community categorized gene editing as a potential weapon of mass destruction (WMD).[i] It expressed concern about the malicious potential stemming from the "accelerated pace of development" of genetic engineering. Although the report does not … Continue reading CRISPR—A Rogue One?
The Devil is in the Details: Assessing the Threat of Russia’s “Satan 2” ICBM
Photo Credit: 112 Ukraine By: Emily Kangas, Columnist On October 27, 2016, Russian missile design company Makayev Rocket Design Bureau published the first declassified image of Russia’s new RS-28 Sarmat rocket.[i] Monikered “Satan 2” by NATO, the unveiling of the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) sparked considerable attention from Western media outlets, many of which … Continue reading The Devil is in the Details: Assessing the Threat of Russia’s “Satan 2” ICBM
A Serious Solution for Syria
Photo Credit: CBC News By: Farnaz Alimehri, Columnist The international community has known for quite some time that both the Syrian government and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have used chemical weapons in Syria. The worst, and most obvious case that comes to mind is the sarin attack in Ghouta on … Continue reading A Serious Solution for Syria
China and Russia’s Angry Response to THAAD: Why and What It Means for the United States
Photo Credit: Alwaght.com By: Annie Kowalewski, Columnist On July 7th, 2016, the United States and South Korea announced their decision to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system on the peninsula in response to North Korea’s continued nuclear tests and development of ballistic missile technology. The next day, China and Russia … Continue reading China and Russia’s Angry Response to THAAD: Why and What It Means for the United States