Editor's note

Miles A. Pomper

When the new president elected this month takes office, the question of how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program will be at or near the top of his national security agenda. In our cover story, former Israeli Deputy National Security Adviser Chuck Freilich offers his views on how that country and the United States should defuse what some Israelis view as Iran’s “existential threat” to their state.

Our other two feature articles look at how the current president, George W. Bush, has dealt with Iran’s nuclear program and other nonproliferation and arms control issues. Christopher A. Ford, who served as a senior nonproliferation official for the administration, says that the administration’s contributions to arms control have been underestimated. As the years go by, he predicts, critics will come to appreciate the administration’s willingness to break with what he views as outdated thinking on arms control and nonproliferation issues.

Joseph Cirincione, who is currently president of the Ploughshares Fund, assesses the Bush nonproliferation record differently. In his view, Bush’s approach has exacerbated nonproliferation problems from Iran to North Korea and stymied arms control progress with Russia. In particular, he argues that the administration has undermined the network of treaties, nuclear export controls, and security arrangements central to global stability. He recommends that the new administration chart a new approach by taking fresh steps to move toward a world without nuclear weapons.

Our news section this month contains a special field report by international correspondent Oliver Meier on a recent exercise in Kazakhstan that tested on-site inspection procedures that could be employed under the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In addition, Peter Crail provides an in-depth examination of the Bush administration’s use of financial sanctions against proliferation, particularly in regard to Iran. Wade Boese reports on how debates over issues such as missile defense and the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead program were settled in this year’s defense legislation on Capitol Hill. Kirsten McNeil reports on the Pentagon’s proposed sales of conventional weapons to Taiwan.

Brian Weeden, a technical consultant and former U.S. Air Force officer, reviews two recent books examining the future of space weaponization, which is another tough issue the next administration will have to confront.