- Commentary – As the civil war in Syria enters its third year, there is much discussion of the regime’s chemical weapons and whether Syria’s Bashar al-Assad will unleash them against Syrian rebels, or whether a power vacuum after Assad’s fall might make those horrific tools available to the highest bidder. The conversation centers on [...]

New Yorker – Defending the Arsenal In an unstable Pakistan, can nuclear warheads be kept safe?

Wired – Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine It’s supposed to be the stuff of science fiction: A device that triggers a nuclear holocaust in the event of a U.S. strike against Russia. But the “Dr. Strangelove”-esque technology isn’t just fantasy. The Cold War-era Soviet “doomsday machine” was — and might still be — very [...]

New York Times Magazine – The Worst Pakistan Nightmare for Obama The new administration’s biggest fear is not jihadists taking control of the border regions. It’s what happens if the country’s nuclear arsenal falls into the wrong hands.

New Yorker – Atomic John A great way to begin the new year – an amazing piece of open source intelligence work – A truck driver uncovers secrets about the first nuclear bombs.

The Atlantic – Meet Oleg Khintsagov, a small-time hustler in Russia who can get you dried fish, furs, Turkish chandeliers Ö and weapons-grade uranium. Heís not the only one. The Atlantic – Uranium on the Loose – Lawrence Scott Sheets discusses the lawlessness of the former Soviet republics and the nuclear threat no one talks [...]

New Yorker – Seymour Hersh on why did Israel bomb Syria?more…

Washington Post – Thomas Ricks reports a small group of U.S. military experts and intelligence officials convened in Washington for a classified war game last year, exploring strategies for securing Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal if the country’s political institutions and military safeguards began to fall apart.more…

New York Times – Over the past six years, the Bush administration has spent almost $100 million on a highly classified program to help Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistanís president, secure his countryís nuclear weapons???But with the future of that countryís leadership in doubt, debate is intensifying about whether Washington has done enough to help protect [...]

Global Security Newswire – In a closed-door meeting in November, advisers to U.S. Strategic Command are slated to report their recommendations for what could become the Navyís next nuclear weapons-carrying submarine.more…

The Times – It was just after midnight when the 69th Squadron of Israeli F15Is crossed the Syrian coast-line. On the ground, Syriaís formidable air defences went dead. An audacious raid on a Syrian target 50 miles from the Iraqi border was under way???more…

Slate – Does Russia have a Doomsday Machine?more…

New Yorker – Can the United States be made safe from nuclear terrorism?more…

New York Times Magazine – Can the head of the Nuclear Threat Initiative do more now to curtail uranium smugglers, loose nukes and the proliferation of nuclear states than he could as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee?more…

New York Times Magazine – If Iran gets the bomb, what will it do with it? Does Islamic law justify the use of weapons of mass destruction? Is there a Shiite urge for apocalypse? Is atomic warfare suicide bombing writ large?more…

Foreign Affairs – Could the U.S. government really destroy all of an adversary’s nuclear weapons in a nuclear first strike? Does Washington want that ability? And what–if anything–should be done about it?more…

Associated Press – The Navy intercepted and destroyed a warhead as it separated from its booster rocket during a test Thursday off Hawaii ñ the first time a ship at sea has shot down a multi-stage missile.more…

Washington Post – A fascinating article by William Arkin on STRATCOM’s new mission of global strike – what it means and how they intend to carry it out.more…