Recent Publications

Preventive War and Its Alternatives: The Lessons of History
April 1, 2006 — Author: Dr Dan Reiter The 2002 National Security Strategy suggested preventive attacks, diplomacy, deterrence, and other policies as means of curtailing threats presented by the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons to terrorists and rogue states. The author analyzes which mix of these policies might best and most cost... MORE

Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran
November 1, 2005 — Authors: Mr Patrick Clawson, Mr Henry D Sokolski As Iran edges closer to acquiring a nuclear bomb and its missiles extend an ever darker diplomatic shadow over the Middle East and Europe, Iran is likely to pose three threats. First, Iran could dramatically up the price of oil by interfering with the free passage of vessels in and through the... MORE

Welcome Iran and North Korea to the Nuclear Club: You’re Targeted
June 1, 2005 — Author: LTC Raymond A Millen Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the June 2005 newsletter.Read Now MORE

South Asia and the Nuclear Future: Rethinking the Causes and Consequences of Nuclear Proliferation
May 25, 2005 — Author: Dr Todd S Sechser On June 4-5, 2004, the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University hosted a workshop on the question of nuclear weapons and stability in South Asia. Cosponsored by CISAC and the U.S. Army War College, the workshop brought together approximately 75 scholars, military officers, civilian... MORE

Dismantling North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Programs
April 1, 2005 — Author: COL David J Bishop This paper examines the choices available to the United States for dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. The options range from doing nothing to executing policies of engagement, containment, or preemption. Each option has advantages and disadvantages, and there are numerous factors influencing the problem... MORE

The U.S.-India Relationship: Strategic Partnership or Complementary Interests?
February 1, 2005 — Author: Dr Amit Gupta This monograph examines the U.S.-India security relationship and argues that significant differences in their worldviews precludes the development of a strong strategic relationship at present. However, India's continued economic and military growth, as well as its ongoing commitment towards secularism and democracy, makes it... MORE

The Impact of Missile Threats on the Reliability of U.S. Overseas Bases: A Framework for Analysis
January 1, 2005 — Author: Mr Joel Wuthnow Although the United States will continue to utilize overseas military bases in the next decade, the acquisition and improvement of long-range missiles by several potential aggressors will pose new operational and strategic problems for U.S. forces. Several states will likely attain a credible capability to threaten U.S... MORE

Getting MAD: Nuclear Mutual Assured Destruction, Its Origins and Practice
November 1, 2004 — Author: Mr Henry D Sokolski Getting MAD: Nuclear Mutual Assured Destruction, Its Origins and Practice is the first critical history of the intellectual roots and actual application of the strategic doctrine of nuclear mutual assured destruction or MAD. Written by the world's leading French, British, and American military policy planners and... MORE

Nuclear Asia
May 11, 2004 — Authors: Mr Joseph Ferguson, Rep Gael Tarleton On March 18-19, 2004, in Seattle, Washington, the National Bureau of Asian Research, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, U.S. Army War College, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Energy, Nuclear Threat Initiative, and the Ploughshares Fund co-sponsored a conference to explore the complex... MORE

Checking Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions
January 1, 2004 — Authors: Mr Patrick Clawson, Mr Henry D Sokolski Were Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, there is a grave risk it would be tempted to provide them to terrorists. After all, mass casualty terrorism done by proxies has worked well for Iran to date. The fear about what Iran might do with nuclear weapons is fed by the concern that Tehran has no clear... MORE

Bounding the Global War on Terrorism
December 1, 2003 — Author: Dr Jeffrey Record The author examines three features of the war on terrorism as currently defined and conducted: (1) the administration's postulation of the terrorist threat, (2) the scope and feasibility of U.S. war aims, and (3) the war's political, fiscal, and military sustainability. He believes that the war on terrorism--as opposed to... MORE

Strategic Effects of Conflict with Iraq: Latin America
March 1, 2003 — Author: Dr Max G Manwaring The author has been asked to analyze four issues: the position that key states in their region are taking on U.S. military action against Iraq; the role of America in the region after the war with Iraq; the nature of security partnerships in the region after the war with Iraq; and the effect that war with Iraq will have... MORE