Security Dilemmas
@securitydilemmas.bsky.social
I'm Richard Purcell, Louisiana native, proud UNC alum, former Capitol Hill staffer, SAIS grad, and (hopefully) keen observer of foreign policy and national security. Nukes are my specialty.
Pinned
Nuclear Damage Limitation in an Era of Great Power Competition
Editor’s note: This is the second piece in a two-part series examining the role of damage limitation strategy in U.S. nuclear war planning. Read part one here. With the apparent reemergence …
globalsecurityreview.com
This is the second part of my article in Global Security Review about damage limitation in the modern world:
NYT says one indication of a planned U.S strike on Iran would be if the U.S. sent a "ballistic-missile submarine" to the Red or Arabian Sea. Presumably they actually meant to say "guided missile submarine". It's not a minor error. SSBNs carry nuclear weapons; SSGNs don't.
February 14, 2026 at 4:19 PM
NYT says one indication of a planned U.S strike on Iran would be if the U.S. sent a "ballistic-missile submarine" to the Red or Arabian Sea. Presumably they actually meant to say "guided missile submarine". It's not a minor error. SSBNs carry nuclear weapons; SSGNs don't.
Reposted by Security Dilemmas
30 countries use mail voting
February 12, 2026 at 9:21 PM
30 countries use mail voting
Because the Trump administration just wasn't satisfied with the slow pace of climate change.
Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Because the Trump administration just wasn't satisfied with the slow pace of climate change.
"The brutality of U.S.A.I.D.’s closure and the disregard for the human toll betrayed a vision of a crueler, meaner, more insular world — one in which America aspires not to any pretense of moral leadership but simply to naked power."
Opinion | What We Lost When We Lost U.S.A.I.D.
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:52 PM
"The brutality of U.S.A.I.D.’s closure and the disregard for the human toll betrayed a vision of a crueler, meaner, more insular world — one in which America aspires not to any pretense of moral leadership but simply to naked power."
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WHEN YOU SAY CAROLINA, SAY NORTH CAROLINA, WHEN YOU SAY CAROLINA, SAY HEELS
February 8, 2026 at 1:41 AM
WHEN YOU SAY CAROLINA, SAY NORTH CAROLINA, WHEN YOU SAY CAROLINA, SAY HEELS
This is literally the best thing that has happened in the universe since Trump got back in office.
Carolina comeback! Tar Heels rally in final minutes to stun Duke on Trimble shot
UNC scored the game’s final nine points to stun Duke in another thrilling edition of their basketball rivalry.
www.newsobserver.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:13 AM
This is literally the best thing that has happened in the universe since Trump got back in office.
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The Duke-Carolina game is much more important than the Super Bowl.
Sorry, I don't make the rules.
Sorry, I don't make the rules.
February 7, 2026 at 2:59 PM
The Duke-Carolina game is much more important than the Super Bowl.
Sorry, I don't make the rules.
Sorry, I don't make the rules.
NYT: "While there are glimpses today of renewed concerns [about nuclear conflict], there is little public discussion about whether the Trump administration is countering the reinvigorated nuclear threat or fueling it."
Nuclear Arms Control Era Comes to End Amid Global Rush for New Weapons
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:40 PM
NYT: "While there are glimpses today of renewed concerns [about nuclear conflict], there is little public discussion about whether the Trump administration is countering the reinvigorated nuclear threat or fueling it."
Well, we are all now living in a post-New START world.
February 5, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Well, we are all now living in a post-New START world.
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We do not need a $1.5 trillion dollar defense budget.
50% increase in one year?!?
breakingdefense.com/2026/02/excl...
50% increase in one year?!?
breakingdefense.com/2026/02/excl...
EXCLUSIVE: HASC chair seeking $450B for defense in reconciliation - Breaking Defense
Mike Roger, the House Armed Services Committee chief, wants to use reconciliation for a massive increase in defense spending.
breakingdefense.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:17 AM
We do not need a $1.5 trillion dollar defense budget.
50% increase in one year?!?
breakingdefense.com/2026/02/excl...
50% increase in one year?!?
breakingdefense.com/2026/02/excl...
If Jeff Bezos is slashing the Washington Post's coverage of world affairs, does that mean the cost of my subscription will be reduced by a corresponding amount?
February 4, 2026 at 6:16 PM
If Jeff Bezos is slashing the Washington Post's coverage of world affairs, does that mean the cost of my subscription will be reduced by a corresponding amount?
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INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
February 4, 2026 at 5:11 PM
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
Golden Dome makes Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative look like a serious policy blueprint. At least Reagan didn't try to get private investors to pay for SDI.
U.S. Space Force General Reaffirms Tight Timeline For Golden Dome | Aviation Week Network
The DOD is following a strict schedule to deploy an initial Golden Dome for America capability in just more than two years and an expanded architecture by 2035.
aviationweek.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:43 AM
Golden Dome makes Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative look like a serious policy blueprint. At least Reagan didn't try to get private investors to pay for SDI.
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After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.
January 27, 2026 at 9:30 PM
After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.
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The Washington Post has a superb corps of dedicated foreign correspondents. I rely on their work and so do countless others. May that always be the case.
January 27, 2026 at 3:08 AM
The Washington Post has a superb corps of dedicated foreign correspondents. I rely on their work and so do countless others. May that always be the case.
This is the statement of someone who is pathologically lacking in self-awareness.
January 27, 2026 at 12:52 AM
This is the statement of someone who is pathologically lacking in self-awareness.
Key point by Rep. Seth Moulton: “The core of Trump’s idea, a miracle missile shield that will make America invincible from nuclear attack, is dangerous and destabilizing . . . Golden Dome will make nuclear war more likely, not less.”
January 26, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Key point by Rep. Seth Moulton: “The core of Trump’s idea, a miracle missile shield that will make America invincible from nuclear attack, is dangerous and destabilizing . . . Golden Dome will make nuclear war more likely, not less.”
This article is so painful to read.
After 80-year bond, Germans find breaking up with the U.S. is hard to do
To many Germans, Americans were saviors after World War II, and they feel especially hurt over President Donald Trump’s disdain for Europe and traditional alliances.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:46 PM
This article is so painful to read.
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It's only absurd to call Trump a fascist if your definition of "fascism" is "something that can't happen in the United States of America."
Trump Sounds a Lot Like You-Know-Who
He’s no Hitler. But his speech in Davos about Greenland eerily echoes 1938.
lnk.thebulwark.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:30 PM
It's only absurd to call Trump a fascist if your definition of "fascism" is "something that can't happen in the United States of America."
Amen to this.
EU chief diplomat Kallas: World’s woes mean it’s time to start drinking
High representative says global events mean now could be a good time to hit the bottle.
www.politico.eu
January 21, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Amen to this.
Trump's only been back in office for a year. How bad are things going to be two or three years from now?
With Threats to Greenland, Trump Sets America on the Road to Conquest
www.nytimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Trump's only been back in office for a year. How bad are things going to be two or three years from now?
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One more thing Trump should know but doesn’t: Schelling shows to compel behavior you need not only to threaten but to offer an agreed outcome. Trump’s unreliability means no deal is dependable (see USMCA), so compellance less likely successful.
January 18, 2026 at 11:05 PM
One more thing Trump should know but doesn’t: Schelling shows to compel behavior you need not only to threaten but to offer an agreed outcome. Trump’s unreliability means no deal is dependable (see USMCA), so compellance less likely successful.
Reposted by Security Dilemmas
Old enough to remember when the U.S. was using economic coercion to punish aggression and territorial conquest rather than in service of those illegal objectives.
January 17, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Old enough to remember when the U.S. was using economic coercion to punish aggression and territorial conquest rather than in service of those illegal objectives.