We're Hiring!
Feb 04, 2010

UPDATE: We are no longer accepting applications for this position.

Join our team! Council for a Livable World and its sister organization, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, are hiring for the position of Contributions Coordinator/Office Manager.

Click here for application details.

Oh. No. She. Didn’t.
Feb 04, 2010

Contest over, Carly Fiorina wins. Not in the election, of course, but in the contest that matters most – for the best campaign video of all time. Check out Fiorina’s latest ad against Republican primary opponent and ex-Rep. Tom Campbell. It’s even compelled fellow primary competitor Chuck DeVore to create his own website, “Society for the Eradication of Demon Sheep from our Political Discourse.”

Get ready for fields of grazing sheep, falling sheep, demon-eyed sheep, and – oh yes – even a man-sheep.

Simply amazing.

Latest Senate Race Predictions
Feb 03, 2010

Each election cycle, in addition to our own analyses, we compile predictions by other political race experts on the most competitive races in the country. Find updated forecasts for key 2010 Senate races from Stuart Rothenberg’s Political Report, Congressional Quarterly, the Cook Political Report, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball.

The biggest moves since November?

•    Arkansas is now either a "toss-up" or "leans Republican" from all sources
•    With Dodd's retirement, all the experts agree that Dem's chances of keeping his seat are in their favor.
•    After Beau Biden (D) announced in January that he would not run for his father's former seat, chances of Republican takeover have increased
•    Everyone agrees that Republican's chances of taking the North Dakota Senate seat have vastly improved with Dorgan's announced retirement.

Read the complete analysis here, and continue to check back for the latest updates.

John Isaacs Returns to Russia TV
Feb 02, 2010

As Kingston says over at Nukes of Hazard, maybe John should take out a second office over at Russia Today. Yesterday John was returned to the program to discuss some of the issues delaying a new START agreement and President Obama's commitment to maintaining a safe, secure, and effective nuclear stockpile. Check out the video here.

Meanwhile, it appears that the U.S. and Russia have resolved their remaining differences and reached a consensus in principle on a new START agreement.

Watch Executive Director John Isaacs on START
Jan 29, 2010

Last night, John was interviewed on Russia Today t.v. on START.

Watch the video to hear about what's at stake in the negotiations, the expected timeline for signing and ratifying the treaty, what the negotiations mean for the international community, and whether anything could derail it.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel.

MO GOP Attacks CLW and Carnahan
Jan 27, 2010

In a recent press release, the Missouri Republican Party tied Robin Carnahan (D-MO)'s Senate campaign to Martha Coakley's unsuccessful Senate bid in Massachusetts, and then attacked both candidates for their endorsements from the Council.

Given the striking similarities between the campaigns of Martha Coakley and Robin Carnahan, the Massachusetts results foreshadow trouble for Robin Carnahan’s chances in Missouri.

...The same liberal groups that desperately tried to bail out Martha Coakley are also actively engaged in attempting to purchase Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat for Robin Carnahan.

...Carnahan has accepted an endorsement from the Council for a Livable World, a far-left anti-national defense group. The CLW is even raising money for her campaign. In Massachusetts, Coakley also accepted an endorsement from the group.

This isn't the GOP's first attack on Carnahan for her progressive positions and her support from the Council.

Iran Sanctions are Counterproductive
Jan 08, 2010

“Iran Sanctions are Counterproductive,” an op-ed by our very own Laicie Olson, appeared yesterday in the East Texas Review.

Highlights posted below, or check out the complete article at ETR.

Rushing to pass unilateral gasoline sanctions may send the signal that the United States is no longer interested in engagement. If sanctions become necessary to increase international pressure on Iran, multilateral sanctions targeted at the Iranian leadership and Guard Corps would be more effective.

If Congress ultimately passes unilateral gasoline sanctions this year, Ahmadinejad would have a convenient excuse for delaying negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and continuing to stifle dissent. Are these counterproductive outcomes worth it just so a few members of Congress can go home and brag to their constituents that they are “doing something” about Iran?

Leadership isn’t about doing something. It’s about doing the right thing.

John Isaacs and Tom Schelling on Nuke Reductions
Jan 07, 2010

Yesterday afternoon, Council Executive Director John Isaacs appeared on Seattle NPR alongside Los Angeles Times reporter Paul Richter and Nobel Prize-winning economist Thomas Schelling to discuss nuclear reductions and the idea of a nuclear weapons free world.

Click here for the audio. Listen to the nuclear weapons segment beginning at 14:10, and John at 26:18.

Isaacs spoke about the need for nuclear reductions and the longer-term goal of eliminating nuclear weapons, and Schelling’s talk echoed arguments in his piece, "A World Without Nuclear Weapons?" from 2009 in Daedalus, which was featured in the New York Times' blog on Tuesday.    

Click here to read the two-part commentary on Schelling’s article from Nukes of Hazard, the blog of our sister organization and research center, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

The Battleground States: Predictions from the “Other” Experts
Nov 24, 2009

Each election cycle, in addition to our own analyses, we compile predictions by other political race experts on the most competitive contests in the country.

Find forecasts for 2010 Senate elections from Stuart Rothenberg’s Political Report, Congressional Quarterly, and the Cook Political Report. (Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball has not yet posted information on 2010 races, but will be added to this list as predictions are made.)

Click here for the complete listing of early predictions for the 2010 Senate.

Is the Afghanistan War Part of Obama's Stimulus Program?
Nov 16, 2009

For eight long months President Obama has been wrestling with the request of his commanding general in Afghanistan for at least 40,000 more American troops to reinforce the 68,000 already there alongside the 50,000 NATO soldiers. Virtually the entire foreign-policy establishment has been tied up in a series of eight long meetings on Afghanistan; papers have been researched, written, and discussed in excruciating detail.

As the nation awaits the president's decision, it seems clear that the enormous investment of time and study presages much more than a decision on the number of troops. The president must offer a game-changing strategy: either the application of irresistible force for victory within a reasonable time or a prompt exit strategy. The irresistible force might be assembled quickly by transferring U.S. forces now in Iraq to Afghanistan. The exit might be blamed on the corruption, ineffectiveness and drug dealing of the hopeless Karzai government.