Barack Obama

  • The Neoconservative Legacy and the Deal with Iran

    As Iran and six of the world's major powers reconvene in Geneva to negotiate a final resolution of the nuclear crisis, it is clear that Iranian hardliners and Israeli skepticism are not the only stumbling blocks. There is another entity threatening to upend the negotiations: the legacy of American neoconservatives.

    February 13, 2014 - By Lisa Bergstrom

  • Canceled U.S.-Russia Talks Place Increased Emphasis on Diplomats

    Writing for Defense One, Joe Cirincione urges the U.S. and Russia to move past Snowden and focus on long-standing bilateral security threats.

    August 8, 2013 - By admin

  • Obama at the Brandenburg Gate: Entering a New Era of Nuclear Policy

    Standing at Berlin’s historic Brandenburg Gate, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to end the threat of nuclear weapons. “So long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe,” he declared to waves of applause. Obama promised bold cuts in strategic and tactical nuclear weapons and pledged again to prevent more nations from acquiring nuclear weapons, ban nuclear testing, and end production of bomb materials. But the president delayed implementing any of these steps pending further reviews and discussions. It is thus unclear if the much-anticipated speech will generate the active cooperation from members of the United Nations that is needed to reduce nuclear dangers.

    July 8, 2013 - By Joe Cirincione

  • The President's Prague Agenda on the Brink

    On Thursday, Rachel Maddow asked me if President Obama was going to fulfill the visionary agenda he laid out four years ago in Prague. I paused. What should I say? I support this agenda to move us step by step towards what Obama termed "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." But progress has been slow. I took a deep breath and answered the only way I could: honestly.

    April 5, 2013 - By Joe Cirincione

  • 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.

    November 6, 2012 - By Joe Cirincione

  • 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.

    July 26, 2012 - By Joe Cirincione

  • The Politics of Nuclear Policy in Washington, D.C.

    Early this morning, Joe Cirincione, president of Ploughshares Fund, delivered the keynote address at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission’s (CTBTO) Intensive Policy Course in Vienna, Austria. The CTBTO is working to bring into force the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, a treaty that would ban all nuclear explosions globally.

    July 16, 2012 - By Rebecca Remy

  • 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:

    June 14, 2012 - By Nora Wilkinson

  • 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.”

    May 29, 2012 - By Joe Cirincione

  • Cutting the Nuclear Stockpile in 2012?

    The ratification of New START by the U.S. and Russia set a new ceiling for deployed strategic nuclear weapons at 1,550 in each country. Given the cost of maintaining these weapons and their lack of utility on the modern battlefield, the U.S. could (and should) go even lower.

    May 18, 2012 - By Peter Fedewa