proliferation

‘The Iran Agenda’

Dec 3, 2007
In this excerpt from his new book, "The Iran Agenda," veteran independent journalist and Truthdig contributor Reese Erlich challenges the conventional wisdom on Iran's nuclear ambitions as he investigates the drive for war.
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A Farewell to Arms Control

Jul 6, 2007
Scott Ritter, a former U.N. weapons inspector and the author of "Waging Peace," mourns the passing of the United Nations agency charged with monitoring Iraq's WMD program. That agency suffered a political assassination recently to save the Bush administration any lingering embarrassment. With the closure of UNMOVIC, Ritter writes, the world has lost perhaps its last best hope for meaningful arms control and inspection.

North Korea: Show Me the Money

Mar 21, 2007
North Korea simply refuses to engage in the six-party talks until it receives $25 million in disputed funds. The disarmament deal struck by Washington and Pyongyang is now being held up by "technical problems." U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill expressed his frustration: "The problem is, you can't expect all these large delegations to sit around while it is being sorted out."

Having Your Bomb and Eating It Too

Mar 3, 2007
For the first time in two decades, the United States will produce a new design of the hydrogen bomb. The weapon is meant to ease insecurities caused by the aging of America's nuclear arsenal but probably will be a mortal blow to the administration's credibility as it attempts to deter other countries from building nuclear weapons.

North Korea Renews Disarmament Pledge

Mar 1, 2007
A top North Korean leader on Thursday reaffirmed his nation's intention to disarm, calling a nuclear-free Korean peninsula the "dying wish" of former dictator Kim Il Sung. Kim Yong Nam, the North's second-in-command, said his regime "will make efforts to realize" that wish.