Nuclear Policy News – May 17, 2019

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Top News

Air Force deploys B-52 missiles that could disable military electronics with high-power microwaves
Military & Aerospace Electronics

Trump Administration’s Mixed Signals on Iran Fuel Turmoil
RealClearPolitics

Nuclear Weapons Are Getting Less Predictable, and More Dangerous
Defense One

U.S. Nuclear News

US Army’s missile defense radar program advances into prototype competition
Defense News05/16/2019
The U.S. Army’s competition for a new air and missile defense radar has begun with the release of a request for proposals asking for prototypes.

Air Force deploys B-52 missiles that could disable military electronics with high-power microwaves
Military & Aerospace Electronics5/17/2019
The U.S. Air Force has deployed at least 20 missiles that could zap the military electronics of North Korea or Iran with high-power microwaves, rendering their military capabilities virtually useless without causing any fatalities.

Middle East

Iran’s top diplomat presses efforts to save nuclear deal
The Washington Post5/17/2019
Iran’s foreign minister traveled Friday to China on his Asian tour aimed at keeping world markets open to Tehran amid an intense sanctions campaign from the U.S. as tensions across the Persian Gulf remain high.

Trump Administration’s Mixed Signals on Iran Fuel Turmoil
RealClearPolitics5/17/2019
Deep frustration over the Trump administration’s mixed messages on Iran erupted into public view this week amid growing concern in Washington about a military clash between the U.S. and Tehran – a conflict President Trump has said he doesn’t want but won’t rule out.

Opinion/Analysis/Commentary

Nuclear Weapons Are Getting Less Predictable, and More Dangerous
Defense OnePatrick Tucker
5/16/2019
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, to discuss, among many things, the prospect of a new, comprehensive nuclear-weapons treaty with Russia and China. At the same time, the Pentagon is developing a new generation of nuclear weapons to keep up with cutting-edge missiles and warheads coming out of Moscow. If the administration fails in its ambitious renegotiation, the world is headed toward a new era of heightened nuclear tension not seen in decades.

Could the U.S. Live With a Nuclear North Korea?
World Politics ReviewBonnie Jenkins
5/17/2019
The long-standing goal of U.S. policy on North Korea has been the “complete, verifiable and irreversible” dismantling of its nuclear weapons program and arsenal. While the Trump administration remains committed to pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, the U.S. should begin to consider its policy options in the event North Korea decides to keep them.

Why North Korea is Testing Missiles Again
Foreign AffairsAnkit Panda, Vipin Narang
5/16/2019
In the wake of the Hanoi summit’s failure—after which North Korean officials suggested that Kim may have “lost the will to negotiate further”—Pyongyang’s renewed commitment to testing missiles certainly looks ominous, and could portend a turn back to a confrontation between the United States and North Korea. What precipitated Kim’s first ballistic missile test in almost a year and a half?

Special Interest

The Chernobyl Disaster May Also Have Built a Paradise
WiredAdam Rogers
5/13/2019
An HBO show, which airs on Mondays, tells the story of the nuclear explosion, but some scientists think the radioactive, human-free landscape might now be a haven for plants and animals.

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