This has additional salience now that we know that special counsel Robert Mueller is indeed investigating Donald Trump. If Trump fires Mueller (or orders his firing). Julia Ioffe summarizes what we know about Jeff Sessions’s meetings with Sergey Kislyak and what we don’t know.
The president’s delegation of determining troop levels in Afghanistan to the Pentagon is unprecedented and dangerous. Read More
Russia has been violating the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, but the United States won’t say exactly what the violation is. The INF Treaty prohibits intermediate-range missiles with nuclear warheads. Back in the 1980s, both the US and Russia had such missiles aimed at each other in Europe. The problem with missiles like this is that there is no warning time whatsoever, and thus a heavy motive to strike the other party first. James Action suggests a strategy for getting the treaty back on track. Top photo from here: Soviet inspectors and their American escorts standing among dismantled Pershing II missiles in Colorado as other missile components are destroyed nearby under the INF Treaty, January 1989. Read More
A devoted corps of North Korea watchers analyzes information coming out of North Korea on its missile and nuclear tests. I sometimes chime in, but missiles are not my thing. Much of the conversation takes place on Twitter, so you can see people figuring things out in real time.
First, a summary of this latest test. It seems to have been a successful test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile that North Korea is calling the Hwasong-12. This article summarizes the early information and analysis and links to many of the people who participate in those discussions. Read More
David Albright offers an estimate of North Korea’s nuclear weapons that is not too far from mine. As he notes, any estimates have uncertainties upon uncertainties.
President Donald Trump’s bluster at North Korea has died down, but it could start up again at any time. Since North Korea’s nuclear weapons, or the threat of them, figure in the situation, we now need the best estimates possible.
Although Albright’s estimates are only slightly higher than mine, there are other considerations that I took into account implicitly. This post makes those considerations explicit. Read More
China’s trade with North Korea in overhead photos. Photo from here: 30 days of activity as of April 26. Read More
Carried away: The inside story of how the Carl Vinson’s canceled port visit sparked a global crisis.
How to hack and not hack a missile. The New York Times is getting some stuff wrong lately. Read More
US leaders have put on their best stern-father faces toward North Korea and China. On his trip to the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, Vice President Mike Pence headed outside, against warnings, to stare into the North. “It was important that they […] see our resolve in my face,” he told the US press.
At the White House Easter Egg Roll, President Donald Trump declared North Korea has “got to behave.” He has also tweeted warnings: “I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!” “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them!” “I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea. If they are unable to do so, the U.S., with its allies, will!” Read More
Why there are no good options on North Korea’s nuclear program.
Interview with Joel Wit, who has been watching North Korea for a couple of decades and more. Also by Wit: How to defuse the crisis with North Korea. Hint: Bluster and bluff won’t do it.
History: How Washington hard-liners helped to create the North Korean crisis.
The hidden messages in North Korea’s military parade.
What missiles does North Korea have?
The US isn’t hacking North Korea’s missile launches. Rocket science is hard.
Take a 3D tour of North Korea’s nuclear test tunnels. Top photo is a screen grab from the tour.
The White House’s misleading statements about Trump’s ‘armada’ heading to Korea.
Twitter thread by Ilan Goldenberg on how things might have gotten messed up with the carrier group.
If Assad has been hiding chemical weapons, we need to know. By the chief inspector for the 2014 removal of chemical weapons from Syria. Unfortunately, Russia is protecting Assad and is unlikely to agree. And yes, it’s likely Assad has been hiding nerve agents. Photo from that link. What can forensics tell us about the attacks? Read More
How would North Korea develop its nuclear arsenal? The fact that they continue nuclear testing suggests that they started from a relatively primitive design that they are trying to improve. Read More
