On the radar: State of play on missile defense; $700 billion in nuclear weapons spending; Iran rational, despite the rhetoric; Missile defense tug of war; Kyl/Kirk oppose cooperation with NATO allies; Seoul and nuclear weapons; Romney stumbles on Iran policy; and Farewell Naila.

September 15, 2011 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke

The troubled politics of missile defense - Congressional Republicans are trying to constrain the White House’s policies to advance U.S. missile defenses and seek cooperation with Russia. Talks with Russia have been slow going, as Russian concerns about a NATO missile defense architecture have yet to be assuaged. Charles Hoskinson of Politico reports on how this Congress-White House-Kremlin tug of war is playing out. http://ow.ly/6v3RX

The $700 billion nuclear budget burden - Ploughshares Fund released a new Working Paper assessing what the U.S. will spend on nuclear weapons. Unless current trends change, the U.S. is on track to spend over $700 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next ten years.

--As budgets tighten and officials set new national security priorities, policymakers need to understand the substantial costs of nuclear weapons and seek to reduce them. Read the working paper here (PDF) http://ow.ly/6v2Xy

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Iran’s strategic culture - Iran may be aggressive, but it is not irrational or un-deterrable. Iran’s defense planning is formed around the goal of increasing Iran’s regional influence, deterring adversaries, and achieving self-reliance from the outside world, argues Michael Eisenstadt in a new paper (pdf) for The Marine Corps University.

--That view suggests a rewriting of U.S. policy on Iran, writes Joseph Sarkisian for Best Defense. “The United States must spend less time countering Iranian hard power and more time countering its even stronger soft power, pay more attention to the effectiveness of Iranian psychological warfare, and brainstorm better ways to pierce the veil of Iranian ambiguity.” http://ow.ly/6v3eE

How reliable is our intelligence on Iran’s nuclear program? - The Iran Task Force of the Atlantic Council launches its latest report this morning with a panel featuring Sen. Chuck Hagel, Amb. Stuart Eizenstat, Barbara Slavin, Olli Heinonen, David Albright, and Paul Pillar. Event details here.

Early Tweets - @cirincione and Albuquerque journalist @jfleck had a quick twitter debate about rising nuclear budgets and the New START ratification process. Rounding out the conversion, @ArmsControlWonk reminded: “Noticeably absent from the horse-trading over New START was a discussion of what we actually need and why.”

Kyl and Kirk oppose NATO missile defense deployments - “Turkey has officially agreed to house a U.S./NATO radar as part of the NATO missile defense system in Europe. Despite their love affair with missile defense, two Republican Senators may try to obstruct the deal, writes Patricia Morris for Nukes of Hazard. http://ow.ly/6v4F8

Iran's Nuclear Program: Status and Prospects - An expert panel featuring Admiral Joe Sestak, Mark Fitzpatrick, Greg Thielmann, and Daryl Kimball discusses options for addressing Iran’s nuclear program. The Arms Control Association hosts the event next Monday. Details and RSVP here.

We’ll miss you Naila Today is Naila Bolus’ last day the Executive Director of Ploughshares Fund as she takes on her new role as President and CEO of Jumpstart in Boston. Thank you for 14 amazing years. As friends and colleagues, we miss you already.

Stay tuned to the Ploughshares Fund blog for a big announcement at 11:00 am.