Clinton, Lavrov Agree to Destroy Tons of Plutonium

A nice way to cap off the Washington Nuclear Security Summit from More…

Petraeus Again Clarifies Statement on Mideast Peace

Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and South Asia, was asked at the start of an hour-long presentation what he meant during recent congressional testimony when he waded into the treacherous waters of the Mideast More…

GOP on Offense Ahead of Supreme Court Showdown

As expected, Republicans this weekend already began threatening trouble for Democrats if President Obama nominates someone left of mainstream to succeed Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Stevens announced Friday that he plans to retire from the court this summer.

Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), speaking on MSNBC Sunday, and Jon More…

Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and the Nuclear Posture Review’s Cautionary Tale

Iran may not be in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. North Korea withdrew from it in 2003. According to the Obama administration’s new Nuclear Posture Review, if those two countries or any other NPT violator/non-signatory attacks the U.S., “all bets are off,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham ClintonMore…

With Mitch McConnell in the Room, Clinton Makes Robust Case for New START Ratification

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is giving a speech right now at the University of Louisville about nuclear security. Its overall purpose is to build a domestic political constituency for “a vision of a world in which nuclear materials are not easily available and all states adopt responsible stewardship More…

Jones: Karzai Visit to White House Is Absolutely On

This exchange aboard Air Force One with Gen. Jim Jones, the national security adviser, and Denis McDonough, the National Security Council’s chief of staff, settles a round of speculation as to whether the White House would cancel Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s planned visit to Washington out of displeasure with More…

Clinton Will Push for New START Ratification in Louisville

Live from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) backyard — specifically the University of Louisville — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver a speech at 3:30 this afternoon entitled, “No Greater Danger: Protecting our Nation and Allies from Nuclear Terrorism and Nuclear Proliferation.” It’ll both push for New START ratification, More…

The Nuclear Posture Review as Assertive Multilateralism

At the Pentagon press briefing to roll out the Nuclear Posture Review — read the entire document, all of it unclassified, here — Defense Secretary Robert Gates didn’t address any discrepancies between today’s document and his 2008 views on nuclear strategy. But he did provide context for an More…

Gates’ 2008 Nuke Speech vs. 2010 Nuclear Posture Review

At noon in the Pentagon briefing room, flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Adm. Mike Mullen, Defense Secretary Robert Gates will unveil a Nuclear Posture Review that rejects U.S. nuclear retaliation for a non-nuclear strike. It’s a consensus administration document. Which means More…

PJ Crowley Puts Hamid Karzai on Notice

More than halfway through a coy interview with Josh Rogin about whether or not Afghan President Hamid Karzai really walked back his inflammatory Thursday speech in a Friday phone call with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley has this to say about Karzai’s subsequent More…