The well-known British historian and author of books on Soviet diplomatic and military history, Professor Geoffrey Roberts wrote a letter to the FT two days ago arguing for a reset of the US’ relationship with Russia by the Joe Biden presidency. It came as a breath of fresh air amidst […]
Tag: Nuclear arms
Catholics Against Nukes: Archbishop Wester’s Hiroshima Vigil
In what is a turn-up for the books, a senior voice of the Catholic Church made something of an impression this month that did not incite scandal, hot rage, or the commencement of an investigation. It did, however, agitate a few editors. Archbishop John C. Wester of San Fe, in […]
Russia, China Won’t Accept US Nuclear Superiority
Geopolitics has returned with a bang although Covid-19 is still very much around and a ‘second wave’ is also expected. The US President Donald Trump’s arms control negotiator, Special Presidential Envoy Marshall Billingslea said in an online presentation to a Washington think tank on Thursday that the United States is […]
The UK’s Trident Nuclear Programme
Of the “official” nuclear powers (Russia, the US, France, the UK, and China), the UK probably has the most idiosyncratic approach to nuclear deterrence. Keeping the UK out of Russian–US nuclear arms control agreements in conjunction with US SLBMs is an opportunity for “unofficial” Trident test launches.
Golden Anniversaries For Flawed Treaties: The NPT Turns Fifty
In an era where agreements have been abandoned as “bad”, to use that favourite word of US President Donald Trump, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons continues to feature on the books of diplomacy. But age seems to be wearying it and decoding sober readings from hype-filled tat […]
NATO Wants To Become The Atlantic-Pacific Alliance
No one stops the Pentagon. While the military deployment project around China mentioned by Hillary Clinton in 2011 had officially been abandoned, NATO had just had it endorsed by the London Summit. The process has been launched and is expected to start with Australia’s accession in 2026.
Popes Against Nuclear Weapons
The Vatican comes with its ills, contradictions and blatant hypocrisies in the field of moral theology and human existence, but on the issue of atomic and nuclear weapons, the position has been fairly consistent, if marked by gradual evolution. On February 8, 1948, Pope Pius XII held an audience with […]
Hair-Trigger Nuclear Alert Over Kashmir
Kashmir, the world’s longest-running major dispute, continues, threatening a terrible nuclear conflict. Making matters worse, both India and Pakistan’s nuclear forces are on a hair-trigger alert, with a warning time of only minutes. This is a region where electronics often become scrambled. A false alert or a flock of birds could trigger a massive nuclear war in South Asia.
Hiroshima-Nagasaki 74 Years Later
Seventy-four years have passed since the atomic bombing of peaceful Japanese cities, and humanity’s horror at the nightmare of this weapon remains acute. That horror is now one of the reasons why no country in the world can employ nuclear weapons against anyone without being punished. In that sense, the victims of Hiroshima did not suffer in vain.
Cheering A New Arms Race: The End Of The INF
There is bound to be an initial boost in expenditure and testing on weapons that would have otherwise been banned by the INF. A mini-arms race is in the offing: to each its degree of deserving lunacy. There will also be, if the views of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg are anything to go by, an increased emphasis on improving missile defences.
Trump Outflanks Iran To The West And East
Turkey’s cooperation is vital for the US to plug Iran’s land route to Syria’s ports in eastern Mediterranean and the US bases in eastern Turkey are key intelligence outposts eavesdropping on Iran. Similarly, the US hopes to keep a “very large” intelligence presence in the Afghan bases, which requires Pakistan’s acquiescence.
Going Nuclear In The Antipodes: Australia’s Megadeath Complex
The antipodes has had a fraught relationship with the nuclear option. At the distant ends of the earth, New Zealand took a stand against the death complex, assuming the forefront of restricting the deployment of nuclear assets in its proximity. This drove Australia bonkers with moral envy and strategic fury. […]
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