The Biden administration will face early decision points regarding the modernization of critical elements of the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise in an environment buffeted by competing forces and pressures.
The Biden administration faces a number of challenges in nonproliferation, starting from traditional adversaries like Iran and North Korea but also involving traditional U.S. partners like Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey.
While the clean extension of the New START treaty between the United States and Russia is a critical step to promoting arms control strategies, the international environment is changing enough that new ideas and strategies are going to be necessary to ensure a secure future.
Integrating artificial intelligence with nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) to create an automated strategic response system underestimates AI’s potential to inadvertently precipitate a catastrophic mistake.
Military forces consist not just of the services, but also special operations forces, civilians, contractors, and non-DOD agencies. In his final white paper in a series on U.S. forces, CSIS’s Mark Cancian analyzes recent changes to these other national security elements.
Like its three predecessors, the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review reaffirmed the need for the nuclear triad of bombers, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now comes the hard part.
President Hassan Rouhani of Iran marked the one-year anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal—formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—with another blow to the agreement.
Tonight, the president will belatedly make his State of the Union address. Here are six questions to watch for, the answers to which will drive future defense programs, budgets, and prospects for the industrial base.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), colloquially known as the “Ban Treaty,” is hailed by supporters as the beginning of the end for nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons states, including the United States, have criticized the treaty on its shortcomings as a legal instrument for disarmament. Beyond this criticism, the United States has done little to engage with the Ban Treaty or its supporters. But ignoring the Ban Treaty is a bad idea that will exacerbate the divide between nuclear and non-nuclear states and could lead to a dangerously uneven pace of international disarmament.
The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, preceded by wide debate, is enjoying a honeymoon of sorts. Domestically, it received strong support and close to full funding while internationally, it has received strong support from allies. However, controversy over the NPR may be just around the corner. There needs to be strong bipartisan commitment to nuclear infrastructure and delivery system modernization as well as arms control.