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wellerstein's profile
Alex Wellerstein
Alex Wellerstein
Alex Wellerstein
Verified account
@wellerstein

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Alex WellersteinVerified account

@wellerstein

Historian of science, secrecy, and nuclear weapons. Professor of STS at @FollowStevens. UC Berkeley alum with a Harvard PhD. NUKEMAP creator. Coder and web dev.

Hoboken, NJ / NYC
blog.nuclearsecrecy.com
Joined September 2011

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    1. Vipin Narang‏ @NarangVipin May 14
      • Report Tweet

      Vipin Narang Retweeted Matt Korda

      I’m going to get pilloried for saying this but that’s a bargain for a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear deterrent [ducks and covers now]https://twitter.com/mattkorda/status/1128359937598480385 …

      Vipin Narang added,

      Matt Korda @mattkorda
      REMINDER: The United States is spending nearly $100,000 PER MINUTE on its nuclear forces. 🤯 #NoNewNukes pic.twitter.com/zmszAJkXH1
      21 replies 31 retweets 164 likes
    2.  🇺🇸 Jon B. “Globalist” Wolfsthal‏Verified account @JBWolfsthal May 15
      • Report Tweet
      Replying to @NarangVipin

      I can get you one for 30% of those costs.

      3 replies 0 retweets 6 likes
    3. Vipin Narang‏ @NarangVipin May 15
      • Report Tweet
      Replying to @JBWolfsthal

      I am not saying there aren’t hard choices to make and savings to be had. But even at that level, as a proportion of total defense spending, it’s a pretty good deal

      1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
    4. Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein May 15
      • Report Tweet
      Replying to @NarangVipin @JBWolfsthal

      "as a proportion of total defense spending" — this is the real rub here. What proportion for ~$700B would you consider too much? Doesn't nearly anything look like a "good deal" compared to such incomprehensible excess?

      1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes
    5.  🇺🇸 Jon B. “Globalist” Wolfsthal‏Verified account @JBWolfsthal May 15
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      Replying to @wellerstein @NarangVipin

      $700b not sustainable and % is a ruse. When you can't buy the other things you know you need - like ISR, space boosters, etc then even 6-7%/year a lot. $50 billion/year a lot no matter how you slice it.

      1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
    6. Vipin Narang‏ @NarangVipin May 15
      • Report Tweet
      Replying to @JBWolfsthal @wellerstein

      No one is denying that. We are all on the same side here folks. I'm all for the most effective deterrent we can afford. But I think we, as a community, have a hard time valuing what that deterrent is worth. I don't have a good answer myself, but it's worth a lot imho.

      1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
    7. Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein May 15
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      Replying to @NarangVipin @JBWolfsthal

      Right, but 30% of that would still be "a lot" by any measure. We need better ways to think about these kinds of costs (not just nukes). What opportunities do we lose when we overspend? What else could we be spending that on that would also be worth "a lot"?

      2 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
      Alex Wellerstein‏Verified account @wellerstein May 15
      • Report Tweet
      Replying to @wellerstein @NarangVipin @JBWolfsthal

      (I harp on this because I find the "nukes are actually cheap" line to be so misleading. They're not cheap. Maybe they're worth the cost, maybe it's a necessary cost. But let's not pretend it's cheap. We pay, and have paid, a dear cost for them.)

      8:41 AM - 15 May 2019
      • 1 Retweet
      • 5 Likes
      • Matthew Parent Grant W. Trent 🇺🇸 Jon B. “Globalist” Wolfsthal Albert Lunde Vipin Narang
      2 replies 1 retweet 5 likes
        1. Kingston Reif‏ @KingstonAReif May 15
          • Report Tweet
          Replying to @wellerstein @NarangVipin @JBWolfsthal

          https://www.armscontrol.org/sites/default/files/files/Reports/Report_NuclearExcess2019_update0410.pdf …pic.twitter.com/fbo6TbS6cv

          0 replies 1 retweet 3 likes
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        1. Azor‏ @AzorInfo May 15
          • Report Tweet
          Replying to @wellerstein @NarangVipin @JBWolfsthal

          They're cheap vs. conventional deterrence capabilities. They do drag on resources whe the US military is engaged in conventional-only operations (1991-present) and/or when they're perceived to be unnecessary. Eisenhower 'fought' the MIC with the Nuclear Priesthood!

          0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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