Washington’s foreign policy is in desperate need of reform. The next president can either make changes to our benefit – or ride the status quo to disaster.
Gil Barndollar: The Foreign Policy Choice This November
Neither Trump nor Biden is a reliable realist on foreign policy, but neither one has the standard record of a hawk, either.
CNA: Vatican to UN: It is immoral to threaten use of nuclear weapons as deterrence
A Vatican official challenged the security theory of nuclear deterrence as immoral at the United Nations this week and called for “genuine progress” toward complete nuclear disarmament.
George Beebe: Russia Is Hedging Its Arms Control Bets on Next U.S. Administration
What will that mean for New START?
Daniel Larison: Trump’s Arms Control Farce
The administration’s habit of demanding everything while offering little to nothing will never succeed.
DW: US and Russia ready to freeze number of nuclear warheads
Washington and Moscow seemed poised for a breakthrough on limiting nuclear weapons with time running out on the 2011 New START treaty. Russia is now ready to freeze the number of nuclear warheads if the US does the same.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Extend arms control for a safer future
There is one remaining nuclear treaty forestalling a nuclear arms race between the United States and Russia. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), signed in 2010, is scheduled to expire on February 5, 2021.
Daniel DePetris: Trump vs. Biden: 3 National Security Questions for the Next Presidential Debate
The American people need to know what Trump and Biden see as priorities.
Al Jazeera: Nagorno-Karabakh: Fresh shelling; rivals ‘head to US’ for talks
Armenia, Azerbaijan allege further attacks while reports say foreign ministers to hold talks with Mike Pompeo in separate meetings.
Chas Freeman: Why the Struggle with China is not a replay of the Cold War
I find it, writes Chas Freeman, noteworthy that the most belligerently anti-Chinese members of the U.S. Senate are also its youngest. They came to adulthood after the end of the U.S.-Soviet Cold War and have no experience of its anxieties…
Ted Galen Carpenter: What Would Achieving a Real Reset in U.S.-Russia Relations Take?
There are abundant reasons for the United States and Russia to restore a cooperative relationship, but that approach means adopting more realistic positions and objectives.
Dr. Alan Robock: Dear President-Elect Biden, please start with the easiest problem to solve
Dr. Alan Robock was one of the scientists who helped to discover in the 1980s that a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union smoke from fires ignited by nuclear explosions would block out the Sun, turning the Earth cold, dark and dry, killing plants and preventing agriculture for at least a year, producing global famine. The Doomsday Clock is now 100 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been.
Beyond the Bomb: 2020 Congressional Candidates for No First Use
While President Trump’s tweets and nuclear aggression in the last 4 years have shown the dangers of this protocol, no one should ultimately have the ability to destroy entire communities by initiating nuclear war.
Andrew M. Cockburn: The Enemies Briefcase
A few hours before the inauguration ceremony, the prospective president receives an elaborate and highly classified briefing on the means and procedures for blowing up the world with a nuclear attack, a rite of passage that a former official described as “a sobering moment.”
NY Times: At Front Lines of a Brutal War: Death and Despair in Nagorno-Karabakh
On the front line, the stench is overwhelming. The remains of fighters have been lying there for weeks.
Reuters: Putin proposes Russia, U.S. extend New START arms control treaty for one year
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed on Friday that Russia and the United States extend their New START arms control treaty that expires in February for at least a year without imposing any conditions.
Daniel DePetris: New START Tussle: Why Trump and Biden Will Address a Critical Missile Treaty Differently
Whether the Trump administration will agree to extend the New START accord with Moscow is still very much an open subject. Meanwhile, Joe Biden is on record supporting a five-year extension of the treaty.
Fyodor Lukyanov: Is Russia’s Dialogue With EU Coming to an End?
Sergei Lavrov’s recent comments on the EU may sound extreme, but they were a long time in the making.
Garo Paylan: How Turkey’s Military Adventures Decrease Freedom at Home
Involvement in regional conflicts such as the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia has whipped up nationalist fervor and obliterated space for advocates of peace and democracy.
NY Times: Trump Thought He Had a Nuclear Deal With Putin. Not So Fast, Russia Said.
Trump administration officials want to broaden the New START accord and warn that the price of a new deal will rise after the election. Joe Biden supports a straight five-year extension of the deal.