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Ploughshares Blog: Barack Obama

Pickering, Luers, Hagel, Hayden, Nunn and more on Iran Sanctions
On the radar: Sanctions effectiveness and negotiating strategies; North Korea’s rocket record; Demint leaving; Collapsing WMD-armed state; Indifference on DPRK; and a little Little Boy. Read more »
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Posted on December 6, 2012
Arms control and the Future of US-Russia Relations
On the radar: After the reset; Senate passes NDAA; Iran dates; P5+1 in January; and Detecting nuclear blasts with radio telescopes. Read more »
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Posted on December 5, 2012
A Tale of Two Mitts
For a sense of what's at stake for nuclear policy in this year's election, consider this: The U.S. government is on track to spend $640 billion over the next 10 years on nuclear weapons and related programs -- more than the military's budget for an entire year. The next president will make key policy decisions early in his term that will have an impact on these budgets and global security more broadly. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on November 6, 2012
Barack Obama, Election, Foreign Policy, Joe Cirincione, Mitt Romney, Nuclear Weapons
Obama at UN: Room for Diplomacy with Iran, but Patience Limited
On the radar: Nuclear portions of the speech; Taking stock of Iran policy; Carroll on DPRK; Ahmadinejad in NY; Blimp nets an intercept; CMRR update; New START BCC; and Nuking your cocktails.   Read more »
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Posted on September 25, 2012
Dirty Bombs: What Every Presidential Candidate Needs to Know
On the radar: How they work, and why Iran is a different threat; Technology, common sense blocking adventurism at labs; Misreading the “red lines” of the Cuban Missile Crisis; Scrapping Sturgeons; Obama’s nuclear security record; More than scorpions in bottles; and Creative ways to nuke things other than enemies.   Read more »
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Posted on September 19, 2012
Video Blog: Obama, Romney, and Nuclear Policy
Foreign policy has been the hot topic on the campaign trail recently, with President Obama and Governor Romney making several public appearances – and trading jabs – in an attempt to build support leading up to the November election. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on July 26, 2012
Barack Obama, Elections, Foreign Policy, Iran Nuclear Program, Joe Cirincione, Joel Rubin, Mitt Romney, Nuclear Security, the Jewish Chronicle, Video, Pakistan
12 Books on Nuclear Weapons That We're "(Summer) Loving"
Summer’s here! Time to kick back and… brush up on nuclear policy? Whether you’re looking for a beach read, or are from San Francisco like us – where summer proved to be Mark Twain’s “coldest winter” – these summer months are a great time to dive into a good book. Did our New Year’s list leave you hungry for more? These 12 books - from Shute’s science-fiction to Alibek’s science-all-too-real – should do the trick: Read more »
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Posted by Nora Wilkinson on June 14, 2012
Barack Obama, Cold War, Colin Powell, David Corn, Entertainment, Nuclear Weapons, Rachel Maddow
Remembering Vietnam, Honoring Senator Hagel
Ploughshares Fund board member Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) honored America’s veterans with President Barack Obama at the Vietnam War Memorial on May 28. I was in the audience as his guest when the Senator reminded us, “There is no glory in war, only suffering.” Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on May 29, 2012
Barack Obama, Memorial Day, Senator Hagel, Vietnam, War Memorial, United States
Playing Politics With Nuclear Security
When a Republican president negotiates reductions in nuclear arsenals, it is statecraft; when a Democratic president does the same, it is treason. That, at least, is the position advanced this week by several leading Republican politicians and their political advisors. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on March 28, 2012
nuclear security summit, Barack Obama, Colin Powell, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Mary Kaszynski, Nuclear Security, Ronald Reagan, Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, Soviet Union, United States
New Strategy Recognizes Nuclear Realities
Today, standing with his top military officials, President Obama rolled out new guidance that realigns the Pentagon toward today’s strategic realities. It might not seem like it from the report’s stoic language, but this is part of a set of once-in-a-generation decisions that could reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Read more »
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Posted by Ben Loehrke on January 5, 2012
modernization, Barack Obama, Guidance, Leon Panetta, Nuclear Budget, Nuclear Posture, Nuclear Weapons, Pentagon, strategy, United States