No, I am absolutely not downplaying the potential contamination and exposures that are arising as a result of the ongoing mess at Fukushima. I have seen ample photos of severe radiation burns resulting from exposure to powerful strontium-90 sources discarded by Soviet authorities and stumbled upon by hapless woodsmen in the Republic of Georgia. I […]
Everyone would agree that the United States needs to take their enemies seriously, know who they are, and what they stand for. This is why I get so frustrated when the Obama administration has gone out of the way to not use the words ‘terrorism’, ‘Islamism’, and now, even ‘war’. It should also be noted […]
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the one that has jurisdiction over both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy, held a Member Meeting to hear updates from both agencies regarding the ongoing nuclear messiness at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. You will recall that three of the […]
The Carnegie Nuclear Policy program has released two nice papers worthy of a look-see. The first, entitled “Gambit or Endgame? The New State of Arms Control”, is written by Alexei Arbatov, a scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Nonproliferation Program and a former member of the Russian State Duma. The paper ponders the future of […]
I’m pleased to post this release from the Carnegie Corporation, which has announced $3.15 million in grants to eight nonprofit projects aimed at preventing nuclear proliferation and securing vulnerable fissile materials. Worthy expenditures indeed! Carnegie Corporation Gives $3.15 Million to Prevent Nuclear Proliferation, Secure Vulnerable Fissile Material Japan Crisis Highlights Need to Re-Think Energy As […]
Bill O’Reilly said it was logical. Donald Trump said it made no sense. Sarah Palin called it disappointing. Regardless of one’s opinion of President Obama’s speech last night on the U.S. military intervention in Libya, though, there no doubt seemed to be hints of an emerging “Obama Doctrine” in his remarks. There will be times, […]
I’ll be away this week, so despite all that’s going on in the world, I’ll have to wait until next week to write about it. Good thing the rest of the FPA-o-sphere is doing such a good job of covering everything! Until next week…
The biennial Carnegie international conference on things nonproliferation convenes today at the Reagan Building here in Washington DC and anyone who’s anyone in the field converge on this auspicious confab. This year, topics will include the ongoing nuclear mess at Fukushima, the CTBT, safeguards and the nuclear renaissance, and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Watch this […]
Accusations abound that the West’s intervention in Libya is all about oil. Qaddafi has painted Western intervention as imperialist from the start of no-fly zone talks. “The colonialist countries are hatching a plot to humiliate the Libyan people, reduce them to slavery and control the oil,” he has said. But the Left is exploring this […]
by Sarwar Kashmeri As revolutions sweep the Middle East and leaders supported by the United States for decades are swept away, how should America respond? What lessons can the revolutionaries learn from the American revolution? Is military intervention in Libya warranted? Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarwar Kashmeri posed these questions to Washington Post associate […]
We landed in Beirut’s international airport at 11:30pm. It was raining. We needed two things: local currency and a taxi. Luckily, it appeared that there were upwards of thirty drivers who would have loved to take us to our hotel. Unaccustomed to haggling, we accepted a steep fare from the most persistent driver. Off we […]
This week has not been about nuclear weapons or arms control, but about controlling three wildly malfunctioning units at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, damaged following last Friday’s devastating 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. The operators of the plant in Sendai, just near the epicenter of the huge quake, found themselves racing against […]
Yesterday an international coalition began Operation Odyssey Dawn against Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces. The organizational structure set up to conduct operations is Joint Task Force (JTF) Odyssey Dawn. The JTF commander is U.S. Navy Admiral Samuel J. Locklear who is directing operations from the command ship USS Mount Whitney. Twenty four additional ships from Italy, […]
Amid reports that Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces continue to make gains against the rebel forces to include air strikes on the rebel stronghold at Benghazi, it looks like the international community is reaching agreement to intervene militarily. A New York Times report quotes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying the turning point was the Arab […]
“Violence produces violence,” said Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in his initial statement following last weekend’s Itamar attack, in which five Israeli settlers were murdered. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack except for Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, who no one seems to believe actually did it because they have claimed responsibility for things they […]