Putin's Shiny New Missile Threatens Nonproliferation
Vladimir Putin ’s public speech Thursday night hit many of its objectives: a memorable branding moment for a politician heading into an election this month, boasted a new image of Russia after years of economic stagnation and military decline, and debuted a shiny new missile to emphasize that point. The new nuclear-powered cruise missile could have serious implications for U.S.-Russia relations by complicating the bilateral New START treaty that intended to downsize the world ’s two largest nuclear arsenals. The state of American nonproliferation efforts seems to be at a low in recent history. President Trump frequ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 2, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Caroline Dorminey Source Type: blogs
North Korean Sanctions to Make for Interesting U.S.-China Trade Talks
With one of China ' s top officials arriving in Washington for trade talks, this might not be the best time to impose additional tariffs on Chinese exports, as the Trump administration has been threatening. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - February 28, 2018 Category: Health Management Authors: James Dobbins Source Type: blogs
Do U.S. Bases Overseas Create Peace?
In aCato study last year, I argued that the U.S. policy of maintaining hundreds of permanent forward-deployed military bases around the world is not only unnecessary, but also actually counterproductive in some ways. Advocates of forward-deployment claim it pacifies the international system by deterring adversaries and reassuring allies, thus ameliorating conflict spirals and staving off interstate wars.I argued instead that today ’s lower rates of interstate conflict area result ofmany factors– includingdefensedominance,economicinterdependence,changingnorms, etc. – other than forward basing and the security guarante...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 23, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: John Glaser Source Type: blogs
Joint Military Exercise Can Be a Bargaining Chip with North Korea
Since 1976, the United States and South Korea have scheduled large-scale joint military exercises each year. Postponing the exercises this year has led to some signs that North Korea might be open to diplomacy. Delaying the exercises further could lead to direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - February 23, 2018 Category: Health Management Authors: James Dobbins Source Type: blogs
Countering North Korea's Political Warfare
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has outmaneuvered South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the month leading up to the Olympics. This has dangerous consequences for South Korea ' s security, democracy, and its alliance with the United States. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - February 11, 2018 Category: Health Management Authors: Scott W. Harold Source Type: blogs
TELs on Parade: The Missiles in North Korea ’s Army Day Parade
Kim Jong-un threw a big military parade earlier today, reminding the world of his military power on theeve of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics ’ opening ceremony. Compared to themassive annual parade that takes place on April 15th (the anniversary of Kim Il-sung ’s birth), today’s parade was smaller and less significant, though it did feature some interesting missile systems.The first missile system of note was a new type of close- or short-range ballistic missile (C/SRBM) that, at first glance, looks similar to theRussian-made Iskander-M SRBM. (New type of North Korean C/SRBM, February 8, 2018. Source:YouTube)(Iskan...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 8, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Eric Gomez Source Type: blogs
The Trump Administration and Preventive War
CNAS Senior Fellow Mira Rapp-Hooper has authored a first-rate take-down of the illogic of supposedly limited strikes (aka the “bloody nose” option) against North KoreaatThe Atlantic. Here are a few choice passages:it makes little sense for American war planners to assume a “limited” strike like this would stay limited. A U.S. operation may not achieve its objectives, and even if it does, it would still leave the decision of whether or not to retaliate up to Kim. The North Korean leader would make that decision based on his own beliefs about the strike once it t ook place, not based on American wishes for his res...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 6, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Christopher A. Preble Source Type: blogs
Trump's Bombast On Iran & North Korea Makes War More Likely
Neatly defining President Trump ’s foreign policy has never been easy, characterized as it is by contradictory impulses, fragmentary ideas, and strains of paradox. However, on the two most arresting national security issues at the top of Trump’s agenda—Iran and North Korea—his approach is plain: aggressive confrontation is good; diplomacy is bad.The problem is that, even if Trump himself is not determined to go to war with either of these countries, he is making it far more likely.Last month, Trump once again waived nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, consistent with our obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Pla...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 5, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: John Glaser Source Type: blogs
Trump's First State of the Union: Insights from RAND
RAND research, analysis, and expertise provide context for the issues discussed in the president ' s first State of the Union address, including infrastructure, North Korea, and opioids. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - January 31, 2018 Category: Health Management Authors: RAND Corporation Source Type: blogs
Does Donald Trump Have Heart Disease?
By SAURABH JHA
According to the WHO definition of health, which is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity,” several million Americans became unhealthy on Tuesday November 8th, 2016 as Florida folded to Trump. As Hillary’s prospects became bleaker many more millions, particularly those on Twitter, lost their health. The WHO sets a high bar for health. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a person on social media to be in “complete mental and social well-being.”
Whilst WHO has set a high bar for health, moder...
Source: The Health Care Blog - January 24, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: at RogueRad Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
The Trump Doctrine and Public Opinion at One Year
In advance of the January 30 conference here at Cato —The Trump Doctrine at One Year—I review public attitudes toward Trump’s “America First” vision and his foreign policy handling over his first year in office. Join us for a what will undoubtedly be a spirited conversation with a fantastic group of experts.Donald Trump ’s America First rhetoric during the 2016 presidential campaign marked a sharp departure from the fundamental tenets of liberal internationalism that have guided U.S. foreign policy since World War II. Trump’s tirades against free trade, NATO allies, immigrants (legal and otherwise), and his g...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 22, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: A. Trevor Thrall Source Type: blogs
America's Foreign Policy Attention Deficit
We Washingtonians rightly get criticized for being hyper focused on politics. While D.C. natives gossip about the ups and downs of the powerful elite, most Americans are worrying about their marriages and mortgages. The disjuncture is even greater when it comes to foreign policy, an area in which public interest and knowledge are particularly limited. As many scholars have pointed out, to some degree this dynamic is the result of “rational ignorance” on the part of the public. Given the many other priorities citizens have in their private lives, the benefits of following policy debates closely is quite limited so long ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 19, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: A. Trevor Thrall Source Type: blogs
False alarm in Hawaii: Preparing for the unthinkable
Early last Saturday morning in Hawaii, cellphones flashed the following warning from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency: “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.” Television and radio broadcast similar messages. For 38 minutes, until this warning was retracted, the residents of Hawaii and beyond were put into a state of utter panic and despair, concerned about a potential nuclear attack from North Korea.
These worries are not new
After the end of the Cold War, and after several decades of relative calm, the threat of nuclear war or of a rogue nuclear blast has recent...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 17, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Peter Grinspoon, MD Tags: Emergency Planning Health Source Type: blogs
Nothing New From North Korea
Kim Jong Un ' s recent proposal for talks with South Korea is by no means unprecedented. And while the overture could somewhat ease tensions in the region, there is no reason to believe that Kim is ready to give up his nuclear arsenal. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - January 12, 2018 Category: Health Management Authors: James Dobbins Source Type: blogs
Trump's Foreign Policy: No Hope, Little Change
OveratThe National Interest, I review some recent articles (e.g.here,here andhere) claiming that President Donald Trump has completely reoriented U.S. foreign policy in the span of one year. If true, that would be a pretty mean feat. After all, Barack Obama claimed to have tried to do the same thing, and heessentially admitted to being rolledby what Obama adviser Ben Rhodes labeled “the blob.”But, it turns out, it isn ’t true. Trump hasn’t, for example, restructured U.S. alliances.On the contrary, he allowed Montenegro’s admission to NATO to go forward, the first new member in ten years. Last month, he back...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 11, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Christopher A. Preble Source Type: blogs
