Free Republic

The government is very touchy about its nuclear weapons, apparently because it's only the nukes that can dissuade a foreign nation threatening invasion. The Russian armed forces can do it, as it has shrunk 80 percent since the end of the Cold War in 1991, and fallen apart as well. Lack of money means that Russian military technology has not kept up. This includes the nuclear weapons. While Russia got the new Topol M ICBM into service since 1991, this was a Cold War era project, meant to replace the older, and much less effective and reliable ICBMs. But while...

America and its allies in the past 20 years have assumed that the best way to stabilize the developing world is to export democracy. As a result, the ballot box has become a stand-in for substantive political reforms, resulting in chronic instability or – worse yet – elected autocracies.By Gerard DeGroot Anastasio Somoza, the notorious Nicaraguan dictator deposed in 1979, was no great believer in democracy. "I would like nothing better than to give Nicaraguans the same kind of freedom as that of the United States," he once remarked. "But, it is like what you do with a baby. First...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons is declining in power and purpose while the military's competence in handling the world's most dangerous arms has eroded. At the same time, international efforts to contain the spread of such weapons look ineffective. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, for one, wants the next president to think about what nuclear middle age and decline mean for national security. Gates joins a growing debate about the reliability and future credibility of the American arsenal with his first extensive speech tomorrow on nuclear arms. The debate is attracting increasing attention inside the Pentagon even...