In December 2010, the Senate’s resolution of ratification to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) imposed a condition to begin a next round of arms negotiations on tactical nuclear weapons systems between the Obama Administration and Russia. It is essential that the Administration does not make concessions to… Read more
Broken Promises No Increase in Global Security: Iran is close to having a nuclear weapon, according to… Read more
Section 1228 of the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540), sponsored by Representative Mo Brooks (R–AL), would impose an absolute ban on sharing sensitive missile defense technology with Russia, including the technology for performing hit-to-kill intercepts of attacking ballistic missiles. On the… Read more
Testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee July 7, 2011 My name is Ariel Cohen. I am Senior Research Fellow… Read more
Abstract: In a world of multiple nuclear powers, the U.S. government should exchange Cold War–style deterrence for a policy of “protecting and defending” the U.S. and its allies against nuclear attack. Pursuing such a policy will require both maintaining a credible nuclear posture, which… Read more
In March 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, with a red button symbolizing a new “reset” policy with the Russian Federation. Prophetically, and as a result of an incompetent translation, the letters on the button read “overload” instead of “reset.” … Read more
"I never let my right hand know what my left hand is doing." - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt In the run-up to World War II, FDR's penchant for playing fast and loose with the truth in pursuit of political ends spawned a climate of distrust in… Read more
Abstract: The Obama Administration is already preparing for negotiations with Russia on an arms control treaty that goes beyond New START, which just entered into force in February. The Administration may see this next treaty as the means… Read more
Abstract: The U.S. missile defenses are not keeping pace with the proliferation of threats. The Obama Administration has made massive cuts in the missile defense programs, cancelled promising programs, disappointed allies by pulling out of joint programs, and negotiated an arms reduction treaty with Russia that imposes sweeping restrictions on… Read more
New START, a bilateral arms control agreement with the Russian Federation, entered into force on February 5. This treaty is profoundly biased in favor of Russia.[1] It allows Moscow to build up its warheads and delivery vehicles, including intercontinental-range ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and bombers.… Read more
Abstract: The Obama Administration is asserting that the New START arms control treaty with Russia has a “robust” verification regime, and that it is effectively verifiable. But it is certainly much less verifiable than the original START. The U.S. will know significantly less about… Read more
Top 10 Reasons Not to Trust Russia The current regime in Russia has a terrible record as a reliable partner, yet President Obama wants… Read more
It’s only December 2010, but the Obama Administration, Congress, and the American media are already beginning to look ahead to the next set of elections in November 2012. Due to political considerations, it is unlikely that the Administration and Democrats in the U.S. Senate will push hard for the ratification… Read more
Abstract: President Barack Obama has transmitted a deeply flawed arms control treaty to the Senate for its consent to ratification. While withholding consent is the simplest and most likely approach, the Senate may try to fix the treaty… Read more
Abstract: The United States and Russia recently signed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). An independent assessment by the New START Working Group raises questions about the treaty that should be considered important by all interested in… Read more
On January 14, the Russian Duma conducted a second reading of its proposed law for ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) on nuclear arms control with the United States. The Russian law, if adopted as currently written, is incompatible with the U.S. understanding of the treaty.… Read more
When President Barack Obama takes the podium to deliver his State of the Union address on January 25, he has an opportunity to turn the page on a foreign policy and national security agenda. The Obama Doctrine, which guided the first two years of his Administration, put a premium on… Read more
President Obama has submitted to the Senate for its advice and consent the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which he signed with Russia on April 8, 2010. But Congress currently sits in a lame duck session, one month after a significant election. The question has been raised: Has… Read more
Yet again, the Russians are working to strengthen their position prior to NATO’s Chicago summit coming up in...… Read more
Representative Edward Markey (D–MA) has grave misconceptions regarding contributions that nuclear weapons make to the...… Read more
President Obama is working hard to make a Russian dream of a superior nuclear weapons arsenal come true, writes...… Read more
The Obama Administration is preparing for a next round of negotiations on nuclear weapons with the Russian Federation....… Read more
Twenty years ago, the world watched the Soviet Union fall. The regime that was "planted by bayonets," as President...… Read more
The Obama Administration’s commitment to maintain the U.S. strategic triad appears to be fading, writes Mark Schneider,...… Read more
The U.S. Minuteman III intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM) force faces an uncertain future, writes Mark...… Read more
The Obama Administration’s “reset” policy with the Russian Federation is failing in yet another important aspect of this...… Read more
The Obama Administration’s plan to increase funding for the U.S. nuclear weapons complex has little chance to succeed...… Read more
The recent statements by Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian President's Special Representative for Missile...… Read more
Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy