Topic: Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

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50 years after Cuban missile crisis: 5 ways US must promote nuclear nonproliferation

Fifty years after the Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust, the threats posed by the bomb still hang over us all. The next US president must pursue a nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament “stimulus plan.” It should include the following elements.
Ideas for a better world in 2011
Six big achievements of a surprisingly 'do something' Congress
START debate: 3 things nuclear arms treaty would do, 3 things it won't
Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 04/08

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Opinion: US leadership needed to prevent nuclear testing by North Korea

North Korea’s nuclear weapons test explosion underscores the need for stronger US leadership to prevent the testing, spread, and use of the world’s most dangerous weapons. US ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty would set a clear international standard.
The Monitor's View: For Obama's second term, a call to arms control

From gun control to nuclear-weapons cuts to drone warfare, Obama's second term may be highlighted by a need to define new concepts of security for instruments of aggression.
In Mass. Senate race could Scott Brown win again?

Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown lost the general election to Elizabeth Warren, but could make a run for Sen. John Kerry's seat. But has Brown, once a tea party favorite, alienated national conservative groups?
Opinion: Obama, Congress should push NATO missile defense program off 'fiscal cliff'

As the automatic defense spending cuts loom, President Obama and Congress should cancel the flawed, expensive NATO missile-defense program. Ending the program would encourage greater international cooperation on security issues and free up Navy ships to address actual threats.
Russia not Obama's 'No. 1 foe,' but Moscow doubts a fresh 'reset'

Obama promised 'more flexibility' with Russia after his reelection. But President Putin is pursuing a foreign policy agenda that is increasingly critical of the US.
50 years after Cuban missile crisis: 5 ways US must promote nuclear nonproliferation

Fifty years after the Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust, the threats posed by the bomb still hang over us all. The next US president must pursue a nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament “stimulus plan.” It should include the following elements.
Colin Powell is not endorsing Obama or Romney, yet

Colin Powell, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George Bush, endorsed Barack Obama four years ago. But Powell says he's "keeping his powder dry" on a presidential endorsement.
Latest cyberattack on Iran targets oil export facilities

Computer servers at the government oil ministry and the National Iranian Oil Co. are the apparent target of a cyberattack via a data-deleting virus, Iranian officials have acknowledged. Previous attacks struck at Iran's nuclear program.
Why outlook for US-Russia 'reset' looks bearish

Missile defense disputes, mutual suspicion, and US and Russian campaign rhetoric are all breeding acrimony – and the uncertainty is having an economic impact in Russia.
Opinion: Russian elections: US and Europe must rethink the 'reset'

Vladimir Putin, who seems set to return to the presidency after Russian elections Sunday, looks to be tossing aside the reset in relations with the US and Europe. Were the West to continue to embrace the Kremlin, it would alienate Russians, especially reformers.
Opinion: How Obama can slash defense budget: Cut unnecessary nuclear weapons programs

In order to reach its goal of at least $480 billion in Pentagon savings over the next decade, the Obama administration must scale back previous schemes for a new generation of strategic nuclear weapons delivery systems.
The Monitor's View: Obama must back ideals of Russia protests, not Putin

Protests planned for Saturday in Russian cities are a cry for dignity and respect. They deserve moral support from Obama, not Putin's heavy hand.
Russia balks at NATO's revised plans for missile defense shield

NATO's revised plans for a missile defense shield to protect against Iran are likely to top today's NATO-Russia meeting.
Russia's new threats may endanger Obama's 'reset' policy

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said this week that he has ordered the Russian military to immediately take measures to counter US plans to install advanced radars and anti-missile interceptors in European countries.
As Putin rises again, will the US-Russia 'reset' of ties hold?

Vladimir Putin's return to center stage has sharpened criticism by American critics of the US-Russia 'reset' that improved relations. US critics see an effort to revive a Soviet-style rivalry.
Tea party targets Sen. Richard Lugar: Can moderate Republicans survive?

Tea party activists in Indiana will work to unseat 36-year Senate veteran Richard Lugar, a centrist, in an 'eat your own' gambit that could shape the direction of the Republican party.
Robert Gates: Defense Secretary's exit interview

Robert Gates will retire this month as the US Defense Secretary. In his 45-year career, he's served under eight presidents. In a Newsweek interview, Gates discusses Hilary Clinton, Osama bin Laden's death, and emerging US isolationism.
New US-Russia arms race? Battle lines grow over missile defense.

Defense Secretary Gates and his Russian counterpart will sit down for high-level talks Thursday. US plans for antimissile deployments are spurring threats that Russia might withdraw from the New START nuclear treaty.
In Poland, Obama looks to improve relations with key military ally

President Obama arrived in Poland Friday for the final leg of his European tour on a visit that will focus on military ties between Washington and Warsaw.
Two vulnerable senators, two opposite paths on tea party

Republican Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana and Orrin Hatch of Utah could face tea party challenges in their 2012 primaries. But while Hatch is embracing the tea party, Lugar is fighting it.
Opinion: Pentagon cuts don't cut it. Want to really save money? Get a new security strategy.

Billions in Pentagon cuts touted by Gates and Obama recently don’t represent real decreases to defense spending. With troops in more than 150 of the world's 195 countries, the US needs to abandon its cold-war era deployment strategy. It's time for our wealthy allies to pull their weight.
Q&A with Senator Richard Lugar

Senator Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, discussed Chinese President Hu Jintao's degree of control over the Chinese military, the consequences of US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Tea Party opposition to his reelection in 2012 at a Jan. 18 Monitor breakfast.
State of the Union transcript 2011: Full text of the president's speech

State of the Union transcript 2011: President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night. Here is the full text of the speech.
With Russian ratification of New START, what's next for US-Russia relations?

The New START treaty, which Russia's Federation Council ratified today, is a major step in resetting US-Russia relations, yet many major issues remain.
Ideas for a better world in 2011

In many ways, 2010 is a year you may want to relegate to the filing cabinet quickly. It began with a massive earthquake in Haiti and wound down with North Korea once again being an enfant terrible – bizarrely trying to conduct diplomacy through brinkmanship. In between came Toyota recalls and egg scares, pat downs at airports and unyielding unemployment numbers, too little money in the Irish treasury and too many bedbugs in American sheets. Oil gushed from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico for three months, mocking the best intentions of man and technology to stop it, while ash from a volcano in Iceland darkened Europe temporarily as much as its balance sheets. Yet not all was gloomy. The winter Olympics in Canada and the World Cup in South Africa dazzled with their displays of athletic prowess and national pride, becoming hearths around which the world gathered. In Switzerland, the world's largest atom smasher hurled two protons into each other at unfathomable speeds. Then came the year's most poignant moment – the heroic and improbable rescue of 33 miners from the clutches of the Chilean earth. There were many transitions, too – the return of the Republicans in Washington and the Tories in Britain, the scaling back of one war (Iraq) and the escalation of another (Afghanistan), the fall of some powers (Greece) and rise of others (China, Germany, Lady Gaga). To get the new year off to the right start, we decided to ask various thinkers for one idea each to make the world a better place in 2011. We plumbed poets and political figures, physicists and financiers, theologians and novelists. Some of the ideas are provocative, others quixotic. Some you will agree with, others you won't. But in the modest quest to stir a discussion – from academic salons to living rooms to government corridors – we offer these 25 ideas.