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Articles by Kingston Reif
Where Trump and Putin Could Make a Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump's approach toward Russia has been dominated by his push to end the country's war against Ukraine. But the administration has an opportunity to make progress on another urgent national security imperative: nuclear arms control.
Trump Still Wants Multilateral Arms Control
April 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The United States is open to meeting with the other permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss nuclear arms control and will soon put forward a trilateral arms control proposal with Russia and China, President Donald Trump said in February.
Russia Completes CFE Treaty Suspension
April 2015 By Kingston Reif Russia is suspending its participation in meetings of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty Joint Consultative Group (JCG), according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement on March 10. The announcement marks a further pullback from the treaty that Moscow had largely abandoned in 2007.
Congress Shouldn't Rubber-Stamp Hypersonic Weapons - Breaking Defense
This illustration depicts the Defense Advanced Research Products Agency’s (DARPA) Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle. (DARPA/DVIDS) The lure of hypersonic weapons — the ability to strike just about anywhere on the planet in hours or even minutes — is obvious to military leaders.
September 2021 Nuclear Posture Review News
"[The Arms Control Association is an] 'exceptional organization that effectively addresses pressing national and international challenges with an impact that is disproportionate to its small size.'"
President Biden’s First Nuclear Arms Budget Is Disappointing
By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos* WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — As the Biden administration prepares to initiate a review of U.S. nuclear weapons policy, its first budget request proposes to continue every part of the unnecessary and unsustainable nuclear weapons spending plans it inherited from the Trump administration. This includes the controversial additions made by President Trump to the Obama-era program, such as additional, more usable lower-yield nuclear capabilities.
July/August 2021 Nuclear Funding News
"ACA's journal, Arms Control Today, remains the best in the market. Well focused. Solidly researched. Prudent."
U.S., Russia agree to Strategic Stability Dialogue, but who really cares?
[ Editor’s Note: Lost in the quick draw media grifter reporting on the Biden Putin summit was the expected spin by US political operatives, the slimiest trotting out the overworn Trump spin of ‘Sleepy Joe’ with dementia, and hence how laughable any mention of his being able to have a strategic arms negotiation. The wellspring of this spin is the occasional Biden stutter, being instantly converted into a helpless and hopeless president.
500,000,000,000 reasons to scrutinize the US plan for nuclear weapons
Stacks of money. Accessed via Wikimedia Commons. Credit: geralt. CC0 1.0. The public debate about the future of the US nuclear arsenal is largely a controversy about strategy. But the outcome also has major implications for dollars and cents. The United States plans to spend more than $1.5 trillion over the next several decades to sustain and upgrade its nuclear delivery systems, associated warheads, and supporting infrastructure.
Members Discuss Open Skies Treaty After Russia Withdraws
September 2021 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The remaining members of the 1992 Open Skies Treaty are moving forward with determining how the treaty will function after Russia withdraws in December 2021, a year after the United States also pulled out. Canada and Hungary, the treaty depositaries, convened the states-parties for a videoconference on July 20 to discuss Russia’s announcement in June that it will withdraw from the accord Dec. 18.
Biden Should Sink This Proposed Nuclear Weapon
President Joe Biden’s first real test of his commitment to reducing the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. national security strategy and trimming the bloated nuclear weapons budget is imminent. The administration released an initial topline version of its first national defense budget request on April 9 and is expected to release the full request in May or June.
April 2021 Nuclear Budget News Homepage Slide
"[Arms Control Today] has become indispensable! I think it is the combination of the critical period we are in and the quality of the product. I found myself reading the May issue from cover to cover."
Biden’s first budget should reduce nuclear excess
As the Biden administration begins crafting its defense budget submission for fiscal 2022, the debate about how it should handle the U.S. nuclear arsenal is heating up. Proponents of the Trump administration’s approach, which fanned the flames of a burgeoning arms race, are warning any deviations will lead to disaster. President Joe Biden, however, appears to have a different view.
U.S., Russia Extend New START for Five Years
With only days remaining until its expiration, the United States and Russia officially sealed an extension of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) for an additional five years, keeping in place the treaty’s verifiable limits on the deployed strategic nuclear arsenals of the world’s two largest nuclear powers. The U.S. Department of State and the Russian Foreign Ministry issued separate statements Feb.
Raytheon to Build New Nuclear Cruise Missile
May 2020 By Kingston Reif The U.S. Air Force announced last month that it plans to continue development of a new fleet of nuclear air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) with Raytheon Co. as the sole contractor. “After an extensive evaluation of contractor programmatic and technical approach during…preliminary design reviews, the Air Force decided to focus on Raytheon’s design,” according to an April 17 service press release.
U.S. Defense Bill Drops Nuclear Testing
January/February 2021 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos U.S. lawmakers agreed in December to drop dueling House and Senate defense bill provisions on nuclear test explosions prompted by reports last spring that the Trump administration had discussed a resumption of such testing. The Democratic-led House in July adopted in its version of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) an amendment offered by Rep.
U.S. to Withdraw From Open Skies Treaty
June 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The United States officially notified its intent to withdraw from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, prompting bipartisan opposition in Congress and expressions of regret from U.S. allies.
New START Deal to Wait for Biden
December 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The Trump administration and Russia signaled a willingness in November to reach a deal involving an extension of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) and a freeze on all U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads following the U.S. presidential election, but the two sides remained at odds about the specific terms of such a deal.
Dec 2020 Open Skies News
"[Arms Control Today] has become indispensable! I think it is the combination of the critical period we are in and the quality of the product. I found myself reading the May issue from cover to cover."
Russia Highlights Unresolved Open Skies Issues
November 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos Russia has emphasized its concerns with how the remaining states-parties to the 1992 Open Skies Treaty will handle information obtained under the treaty after the likely U.S. withdrawal in late November. During the fourth review conference for the treaty, which began Oct.
New START in Limbo Ahead of U.S. Election
November 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The United States and Russia each dismissed last-minute proposals involving a short-term extension of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), leaving the fate of the sole remaining U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control agreement undetermined on the eve of the U.S. presidential election.
New START News Nov 2020 - Homepage Slide
Right after I graduated, I interned with the Arms Control Association. It was terrific.
U.S., Russia Disagree on Prospect for Arms Control Deal
U.S., Russia Disagree on Prospect for Arms Control Deal Against the backdrop of the imminent U.S. presidential election and the impending expiration in less than four months of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the Trump administration appears to have once again shifted its proposal for an arms control framework deal with Russia.
U.S. Aims to Add INF-Range Missiles
October 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The United States is moving quickly to develop and deploy missiles formerly banned by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, according to Trump administration officials, but questions remain about what missiles the military might develop and where they would be based.
U.S., Russia Hit Impasse on New START
October 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos As the clock winds down on the last remaining U.S.-Russian arms control treaty, the United States and Russia remain locked in a stalemate with numerous obstacles blocking the path to prolonging the agreement.
New START News Oct 2020 - homepage slide
Right after I graduated, I interned with the Arms Control Association. It was terrific.
DoD seeking legislative help for ICBM replacement construction costs
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Department hopes Congress will approve a change in how it funds its next-generation ICBM in order to avoid what it views as unnecessary contract bureaucracy. Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, Pentagon acquisition head Ellen Lord said the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program was moving along as planned, but indicated a military construction issue remains to be solved.
Why the new ICBM contract is a bad deal
While Washington’s attention remains focused on the coronavirus scourge and President Donald Trump’s disastrous handling of the pandemic, the Pentagon this month made another down payment on an unnecessary and dangerous planned spending binge to upgrade the nation’s already excessive nuclear arsenal. The Air Force on Sept. 8 awarded a $13.3 billion development contract to Northrop Grumman to build a new fleet of intercontinental ballistic missiles to replace the existing Minuteman III missile.
U.S. Shifts Arms Control Strategy with Russia
By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos While Kingston Reif is the director for disarmament and threat reduction policy, Shannon Bugos is research assistant at the Arms Control Association. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – The Trump administration has softened its demand that China immediately participate in trilateral nuclear arms control talks with the United States and Russia and says it is now seeking an interim step of a politically binding framework with Moscow.
U.S. Modifies Arms Control Aims with Russia
September 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The Trump administration has softened its demand that China immediately participate in trilateral nuclear arms control talks with the United States and Russia and says it is now seeking an interim step: a politically binding framework with Moscow that covers all nuclear warheads, establishes a verification regime suitable to that task, and could include China in the future.
CBO Report Strengthens Case for New START Extension
A new report published Aug. 25 by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) further strengthens the already no-brainer of a case for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) and eviscerates the irresponsible claim by the Trump administration’s top arms control official that the United States can spend Russia and China “into oblivion” in a new arms race.
Will Billingslea Answer for Arms Control?
Marshall Billingslea, currently the US special presidential envoy for arms control, faces the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday in a bid to add the top arms control job at the State Department to his resume. His confirmation hearing is sure to be contentious — and rightly so.
New START's Future Continues to Hang in the Balance
By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos While Kingston Reif is director for disarmament and threat reduction policy, Shannon Bugos is research assistant at the Arms Control Association.
No Progress Toward Extending New START
July/August 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The United States and Russia concluded the latest round of their strategic security dialogue on June 22 without agreeing to extend the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last remaining arms control agreement limiting their nuclear arsenals.
Critics Question U.S. Open Skies Complaints
July/August 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos In the wake of the Trump administration’s decision in May to abandon the Open Skies Treaty, and amid uncertainty about the future of the 34-nation accord, critics are disputing the administration’s rationale for withdrawal.
U.S. Continues Stalling on New START
U.S. Continues Stalling on New START The United States and Russia concluded the latest round of their strategic security dialogue June 22 without agreeing to extend the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last remaining arms control agreement limiting their nuclear arsenals.
Debating US nuclear spending in the age of the coronavirus
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, 2013. Photo credit: Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo for US Defense Department. As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to exact a terrible human and economic toll on the United States, Americans are adjusting how they view national security.
US courts accept climate science. Can Trump and McConnell undo that?
At a meeting tomorrow, the US Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to confirm President Trump’s nomination of 37-year-old Justin Walker to become a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the second-most-powerful court in the land and often a stepping-stone to the Supreme Court. The DC appeals court has made some key rulings on climate cases, and Walker will hold a lifetime appointment to it.
What will coronavirus do to renewable energy?
Photo of an offshore windfarm in Anholt, Denmark as seen from the top of a turbine. Image courtesy of Ørsted. Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Yale Environment 360. It appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, renewable energy was growing steadily—but still not fast enough to meet the Paris Agreement’s carbon reduction goals, let alone to make the further strides needed to keep climate change from spiraling out of control.
U.S. Continues Intermediate-Range Missile Pursuit
June 2020 By Kingston Reif The U.S. Defense Department is moving forward with plans to acquire conventional ground-launched missiles that fly distances previously banned by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The progress follows two demonstration tests of such missiles last year, but the next steps in the development process and how much the Pentagon plans to spend on the missiles is unclear.
Coronavirus Nuclear Forces News May 2020 Home page slide
"...the Arms Control Association [does] so much to keep the focus on the issues so important to everyone here, to hold our leaders accountable to inspire creative thinking and to press for change. So we are grateful for your leadership and for the unyielding dedication to global nuclear security."
Future of Open Skies Remains Bleak
May 2020 By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos The United States could officially submit its intent to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty by the end of September, despite strong support for the treaty in Congress and from allies and former U.S. officials. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper have decided to move forward with a U.S. withdrawal from the treaty, the Guardian reported on April 5.
Extend New START -- The World Can’t Afford a U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Race Too
The unrelenting and rapid spread of the novel coronavirus underscores the cost of neglect and indecision by the Trump administration in the face of serious threats to U.S. and global security. This reckless abandonment of leadership also characterizes America’s response to other transnational challenges, including the potential for conflict on the European continent and the threat posed by nuclear weapons.
Budget Would Slash Nunn-Lugar Program
April 2020 By Kingston Reif The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2021 budget request proposes to slash funding for the Defense Department’s flagship program to counter weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related threats, including dangerous pathogens such as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Bullish on Trilateral Arms Control and Bearish on New START
By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos While Kingston Reif is director for disarmament and threat reduction policy, Shannon Bugos is research assistant at the Arms Control Association. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – President Donald Trump said recently that he is open to meeting with the other heads of state of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss arms control and will soon put forward a trilateral arms control proposal with Russia and China.
U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Watch, March 13, 2020
Trump Officials Remain Bullish on Trilateral Arms Control and Bearish on New START President Donald Trump said recently that he is open to meeting with the other heads of state of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss arms control and will soon put forward a trilateral arms control proposal with Russia and China. But China continues to express its opposition to trilateral talks and has yet to respond to U.S. overtures to begin a bilateral strategic security dialogue.
U.S. Nuclear Budget Skyrockets
March 2020 By Kingston Reif The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2021 budget request released in February proposes a major increase to sustain and modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal, prompting fresh questions about whether the spending plans are necessary or sustainable. The budget goals also fueled growing alarms about the challenge they may pose to other defense priorities.
Russia Exhorts US to Extend New START Without Preconditions
By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – Russian officials repeated in late December and early January President Vladimir Putin’s call for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible, though Washington continues to remain silent on the future of the accord, which is scheduled to expire in just over 12 months.
Russia Warns Time Running Out for New START
Russia Warns Time Running Out for New START Russian officials repeated in late December and early January President Vladimir Putin’s call for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible, though Washington continues to remain silent on the future of the accord, which is scheduled to expire in just over 12 months. Acting Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov commented in a Dec.
January 2020 Homepage Slide New START News
"No one can solve this problem alone, but together we can change things for the better."
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