Veteran nuclear weapons policy expert Joe Cirincione, former president of the Ploughshares Fund, joined me yesterday for an important conversation on nuclear weapons in the context of the US-Israeli war against Iran. This is a pressing topic and one we don’t talk about nearly enough — but which came to the fore when Donald Trump threatened to wipe out Iranian civilization in a night.
The topics we discussed included:
The possibility that President Donald Trump will use nuclear weapons against Iran, including two scenarios in which he might do that
The procedure by which a US president launches a nuclear strike — and the utterly unconstrained nature of it (which should keep us all up at night!)
The JCPOA, which Joe argues “wasn’t just the crowning achievement of Barack Obama’s presidency” but of “this generation… the strongest nuclear agreement in this century”
The Omani-mediated nuclear deal with Iran that was on the table at the end of February; it was abandoned by Trump in favor of war, despite having reportedly been even better than the JCPOA
The question of whether Israel might use nuclear weapons against Iran, and an apparent Iranian attempt to demonstrate its (potential) ability to knock out an Israeli reactor
The likelihood of global nuclear weapons proliferation, resulting from the Trump administration’s military actions and abandonment of US allies
High-priority nuclear policy recommendations for Democrats to pursue in Congress and the White House when American voters return them to power
I hope you’ll watch/listen, share, and let me know what you think.
Friends, I’ve been working hard to bring you top-tier, multifaceted analysis to keep you informed throughout the US-Israeli war against Iran. I need your help in order to continue this work. If you appreciate the insights The Debrief brings you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber now. You can also show your support with a one-time donation in any amount. Thank you.
Victory in Virginia… and the beginning of the legal battle!
Before I go, I’d be quite remiss if I didn’t say a word about our victory in the Virginia redistricting referendum.
I hope you’ll check out my short video with top takeaways.
Please note that since I made the video — which is still worth watching! — there has been an important new development.
The legal battle over the referendum, which we knew was coming, is on. A judge in Tazewell County (in deep-red southwestern VA) ruled that the referendum and the underlying constitutional amendment approved by VA voters were invalid.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by the Republican National Committee.
Further, the judge issued a permanent injunction, which bars state officials from certifying the results of the election and blocks the state from implementing the new districts specified in the voter-approved maps.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones is immediately filing an appeal in the Court of Appeals.
Much more to come.
Sic Semper Tyrannis!
With best wishes,
Debra
