Podcast appearances and mentions of adam mount

Welcome back to SSP Weekly! This week, host Miriam Pasternak explores the U.S.'s posture on strategic nuclear deterrence and the concept of 'tripolar deterrence', in light of a recently published Congressional report. Miriam sits down with two guests: Shane Ward, an SSP Master's student at Georgetown University who focuses on nuclear deterrence in his studies at SSP, and Dr. Adam Mount, an important voice and expert in the debate on U.S. nuclear deterrence strategy. Dr. Mount is a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists and holds a PhD from the Department of Government at Georgetown University. Earlier this week, he published his article: “A Not-So-Strategic Posture Commission” for the Arms Control Association, which sparked our interest. We hope you enjoy the episode!

As unexpected as it was that the Barbie movie would spark such a widespread and intense cultural conversation, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, a film about the brilliant and broken man who became the father of the atomic bomb, has too. The film tells the story of the man who gave the world the power to destroy itself, or as Oppenheimer famously put it, “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”  Atomic weapons have been a constant source of debate since their initial use to end the war against Japan in 1945. At the time, Christians had a dual reaction. On one hand, many breathed a sigh of relief that the long war was over, that the boys would come home, and that there would be no further repeats of the devastation seen at places like Iwo Jima and Okinawa, where Japanese resistance was so fanatical that they fought almost to the last man. On the other hand, Christians shared the widespread sense that a deadly Pandora's Box had been opened and that there was no way to go back to a world before “the Bomb.”  Certainly, the sheer destruction and the immense casualties leveled on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are difficult to justify. America has also been accused of racist motivations in dropping the bomb, and in overlooking the significance of the August 8 Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the weakened state of the Japanese military that late into the war.  The fact remains, numerous factors must be considered in light of some ethical framework. By far the best framework for considering war comes from the Christian contribution of the just war doctrine. Specifically, in what is known as jus in bello, just war doctrine says that for a war, or even part of a war, to be considered moral, it must only be done for the right reasons and in the right ways.   For example, while civilian deaths are inevitable, particularly in modern war, noncombatants must never be targeted. This was recently argued again by Adam Mount in Foreign Policy magazine. He wrote that in dropping the bomb, Japanese civilians weren't merely collateral damage but intentionally killed as an act of terror to scare Tokyo into surrendering. In response, Marc LiVecche wrote in Providence magazine that the attacks were indeed a demonstration to the Japanese government, but the target of destruction were the cities, not the people within them.  It's also significant to keep in mind the pressures of the cultural moment. President Truman faced the brutal question of how to end the immense suffering of a war that had gone on so long, when great suffering would follow no matter what he did. As such, doing nothing would not have been a preferrable moral option. The Japanese empire had for years been perpetuating great evil upon its neighbors, leaving millions dead and millions more enslaved.   Had the Americans gone ahead with the planned “Downfall” invasions of Japan, the death toll might have made the atomic attacks pale in comparison. Simply blockading Japan without direct attacks of any sort would have left millions of Japanese people to slowly starve before the military caved, something they'd already demonstrated an intense unwillingness to do.  From the comfort and safety of distance and time, it is much easier to issue simple proclamation. Reality on the ground at the time is not so simple, and theological reflection, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, must be done in the “tempest of the living.” Centuries ago, when asked by a Roman officer if he could, in good Christian conscience, continue his work as a soldier, St. Augustine replied, “Therefore, even in waging war, cherish the spirit of a peacemaker, that, by conquering those whom you attack, you may lead them back to the advantages of peace.” Just war doctrine warns us that any and all actions in a war must not be seen as their own end but only as the means toward a greater end.   War is always awful and sometimes necessary. The great virtue found in just war doctrine is not that it allows for a clean war, free from doubt about our actions. There's no such thing. However, it can help guide those forced to do terrible things in the face of horrible options. To learn more about just war theory, see Just War and Christian Traditions, edited by Eric Patterson and Daryl Charles.   Today's Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy Padgett.  For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org. 

Zack and Melanie are joined by Adam Mount, senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, to discuss the AUKUS security agreement between Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. What does the pact say about these countries' assessment of the influence and ambition of China in the Indo-Pacific? France, which had an agreement to provide Australia with conventionally-powered submarines, was dropped in favor of the United States and United Kingdom helping Australia to develop nuclear-propelled submarines. Can AUKUS members repair their relationships with France? The deal provides a framework for cooperation between the countries on sharing information related to cyber, AI, quantum computing, and other technology. How might this arrangement affect national security as well as societies in the coming decades? Finally, should we be concerned about proliferation?  Zack wishes the administration would be more forthright about how it worked to secure the return of hostages from China, Adam is unhappy with the departure of an important voice on nuclear issues from the Pentagon, and Melanie is happy it's finally autumn! Links: Andrew S. Erickson, “Australia Badly Needs Nuclear Submarines,” Foreign Policy, Sept. 20, 2021, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/20/australia-aukus-nuclear-submarines-china/. Ashley Townshend, “Far From Breaking with the Past, AUKUS Advances Australia's Commitment to Collective Defence,” The Strategist, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Sept. 24, 2021, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/far-from-breaking-with-the-past-aukus-advances-australias-commitment-to-collective-defence/.   Caitlin Talmadge, "Don't Sink the Nuclear Submarine Deal," Foreign Affairs, Sept. 27, 2021, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-09-27/dont-sink-nuclear-submarine-deal. Daniel Baer, “Sub Snub Has Paris in a Tizzy over AUKUS,” Foreign Policy, Sept. 17, 2021, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/17/aukus-france-submarines-australia/. Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy, https://www.gcnuclearpolicy.org/. James M. Acton, “Why the AUKUS Submarine Deal Is Bad for Nonproliferation—And What to Do About It,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Sept. 21, 2021, https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/09/21/why-aukus-submarine-deal-is-bad-for-nonproliferation-and-what-to-do-about-it-pub-85399. IPA Talent Exchange Program, Partnership for Public Service, https://ourpublicservice.org/ipa-talent-exchange/. Jen Psaki, "Press Briefing by Press Secretary," The White House, Sept. 27, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/09/27/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-september-27-2021/. Josh Zumbrun, “World Bank Cancels Flagship ‘Doing Business' Report After Investigation,” Wall Street Journal, Sept. 16, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/world-bank-cancels-flagship-doing-business-report-after-investigation-11631811663. Lindsay Hughes, “Does Australia Need Nuclear-Powered Submarines and a Nuclear-Power Sector?”, Future Directions International, Feb. 25, 2021, https://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/does-australia-need-nuclear-powered-submarines-and-a-nuclear-power-sector/.

Adam Mount, Senior Fellow and the Director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists, joins Trevor Thrall and Emma Ashford to discuss the future of progressive foreign policy.Adam Mount bioAdam Mount, “Principles for a Progressive Defense Policy, Texas National Security Review, December 2018Emma Ashford and Trevor Thrall, “The Battle Inside the Political Parties for the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy,” War on the Rocks, December 12, 2018Trevor Thrall and Jordan Cohen, “The Democrats’ Search for a New Foreign Policy,” Cato​.org, January 16, 2020 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In our special live episode of Power Problems, Emma Ashford chats with Heather Hurlburt of New America about ongoing debates on the future of U.S. grand strategy.Heather Hurlburt bioHeather Hurlburt, “Making Sense of the Grand Strategy Debate,” Lawfare, June 7, 2019Emma Ashford, Hal Brands, Jasen Castillo, Kate Kizer, Rebecca Lissner, Jeremy Shapiro, and Joshua Shifrinson, “New Voices in Grand”Daniel Drezner, Mira Rapp‐​Hooper, Rebecca Lissner, Stephen Walt and Kori Schake, “Searching for a Strategy,” Foreign Affairs, May/​June 2019Ben Sasse, “The End of the End of History,” Texas National Security Review, February 2019Emma Ashford, “The Gentleman from Nebraska Misfires on Foreign Policy,” War on the Rocks, May 6, 2019Ganesh Sitaraman, “The Emergence of Progressive Foreign Policy,” War on the Rocks, April 15, 2019Colin Dueck, Elliot Abrams, Emma Ashford, John Fonte, Henry R. Nau, Nadia Schadlow, Kelley Vlahos, Dov Zakheim, “The Future of Conservative Foreign Policy,” Texas National Security Review, November 30, 2018Van Jackson, Heather Hurlburt, Adam Mount, Loren Schulman, Thomas Wright, “The Future of Progressive Foreign Policy,” Texas National Security Review, December 4, 2018The John Quincy Adams Society See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

March 28, 2019 - Adam Mount, Mira Rapp-Hooper and Ankit Panda discuss the results of a consensus effort of fifteen experts from the US, ROK, Japan, Canada, and UK to develop a strategy toward a North Korea that maintains nukes. They warn that without a major shift in strategy, a nuclear-armed North Korea will expand its ability to aggress against its neighbors, conduct illicit activities around the world, and resist efforts to improve the welfare of its population. For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.koreasociety.org/policy-and-corporate-programs/item/1239-federation-of-american-scientists-international-study-group-on-north-korea-policy-briefing

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Adam Mount, a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists, to discuss the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, its apparent demise, and the future of nuclear arms control. Then, Jeff answers our listeners’ mailbag questions on missile defense, the link between national identity and security orders in the post-Soviet region, and the future of Crimea. Check out Adam’s bio and his recent publications, here: https://fas.org/expert/adam-mount/ We answered your mail, and we need more! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.

The Trump Administration has just released its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), a document that calls for new nuclear capabilities and shatters a decades-old bipartisan consensus that reduced the role of nuclear weapons in American national security strategy. We dive into the NPR with nuclear experts Dr. Adam Mount, Anthony Wier, and Alexandra Bell. Music: www.bensound.com

"Let's treat taxpayers with respect," Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio 04) said to Rick Ungar and guest host Rick Tyler. "Let's better help our overall federal deficit and debt issue, and let's help those people in our welfare system to get to a better position." Congressman Jordan, the co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, uses these principles to explain what kind of spending cuts and structural changes his caucus wants to see in exchange for agreeing to raise the debt ceiling. Adam Mount, senior fellow for nuclear and defense policy at the Center for American Progress, discusses the U.N.'s harsh new sanctions against North Korea and China's recent efforts to delay a potential trade war with the U.S.