Mark Goodman
@markwgoodman.bsky.social
Retired (but not retiring) public servant, scientist, diplomat, lifelong wonk.
Dear Mainers, I'm reposting this as the election nears. #SusanCollins #Maine
Peter Gleick@petergleick.bsky.social · 9mo agoSenator Susan Collins killed the amendment to protect the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) -- perhaps the world's premier research center for work on #weather, #climate, models, and remote sensing. Remember that.
A lot of people have written thoughtful reflections on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. Rather than repeat what they said, I wanted to offer a few personal recollections. Here’s a summary of what I wrote Substack yesterday. markwgoodman.substack.com/p/the-afterm... (1/6)
The Aftermath of 9/11
Where we went wrong
markwgoodman.substack.com
I took a close look at the Bilateral Safeguards Agreement that was negotiated in connection with the U.S.-Saudi agreement for nuclear cooperation. I compare it to the Additional Protocol and conclude that it may do more harm than good. markwgoodman.substack.com/p/assessing-...
Assessing the Bilateral Safeguards Agreement with Saudi Arabia
It has modest value but is likely to undermine the Additional Protocol
markwgoodman.substack.com
Just to be clear, the correct names are still the Department of Defense, the Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Ontario. What did I miss?
“Chris Backemeyer brings exactly the kind of experience our country needs: a sophisticated understanding of national security coupled with an unwavering commitment to constitutional governance,” said Steven Cash, Executive Director of The Steady State.
The Steady State@thesteadystate.org · 3mo ago"We will endorse candidates who show a consistent commitment to the rule of law regardless of party, support nonpartisan oversight of the Executive Branch, and understand the security challenges facing our country." Follow along on all platforms. #steadystate #holdfast #endorsements #politics
Syria coming clean with the IAEA to resolve its questions about the plutonium production reactor Syria was building, with help from North Korea, until Israel bombed it in 2007. The Assad regime stonewalled for years. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...
IAEA and Syria hail progress on resolving Assad's nuclear secrets | The National
Rafael Grossi says Syria co-operating with agency after visits to sites
thenationalnews.com
Mark Fitzpatrick@marktfitz.bsky.social · 2mo agoYay! Some nonproliferation good news. 'https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/08/18/iaea-and-syria-hail-progress-on-resolving-assads-nuclear-secrets/
Steady State member Julia Curlee spoke on MS NOW about the fear inside the intelligence community and the national-security damage caused when respected officers are publicly fired. “It is intolerable to me that that could both happen, and that people not know about it.” Watch here: zurl.co/C6DDE
WATCH: Trans CIA officer on serving under Trump: ‘Wanted my service but didn’t want anyone to know’
Julia Curlee spent decades serving the government across multiple presidential administrations, including Trump and Biden. However, she was fired quickly aft...
zurl.co
The Washington Post published my letter today responding to its editorial about what should replace the supposedly dead global nuclear order.
The most underappreciated fact about nuclear weapons is their near uselessness. Aside from deterring nuclear or other existential attack against oneself, their stated roles have limited credibility and are more trouble than they’re worth.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists@thebulletin.org · 2mo ago"Countries debating whether to acquire nuclear weapons often ask what the bomb can do for them," writes Sadia Tasleem of Quaid-i-Azam University. "Pakistan's recent experience suggests they should also ask what military constraints and risks the bomb introduces."
81 years ago today, on August 9, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped upon the city of Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States. This was 3 days after the first atomic attack on Hiroshima.
Today in 1945, President Harry Truman made his first real decision about using the atomic bomb, ordering an end to further bombings and creating the policy of presidential sole authority (Truman was aware of the general plans but did not officially authorize the attacks on Hiroshima or Nagasaki).
Physicists have measured the faint neutrino signal from a nuclear reactor after shutdown. The results show how these elusive particles could be used to non-intrusively monitor nuclear plants in real time. More in @physrevlett.aps.org: https://go.aps.org/45WElA0
"Freedom of movement, freedom of speech, and freedom to call your city your own are all being attacked in Washington DC, as residents coexist with the armed reminders that there is a would-be authoritarian in the White House." Read Annie's powerful essay below: zurl.co/HmaxJ
How can you help? Repost this. We don’t need money. We need channels to get our message out. This post includes a Starter Pack featuring us and other organizations working in the same space. Sharing it helps all of us reach new audiences. Please repost. go.bsky.app/RXFLYri
The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence ought to be a cause for celebration. Why is it such a downer? markwgoodman.substack.com/p/happy-birt...
Happy Birthday! Ho hum.
The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence ought to be a cause for celebration.
markwgoodman.substack.com
Strong rebuttle to Matthew Kroenig’s claim that “The U.S. Won the War With Iran.” tinyurl.com/yza5ztmk
Did the U.S. Actually Win the Iran War?
Assessing some counterintuitive takes on Operation Epic Fury.
tinyurl.com
It’s time Washington security officials relearned the lesson that missile defense — especially strategic defense — sounds benign but provokes responses that often make things worse.
Stephen Schwartz@atomicanalyst.bsky.social · 4mo agoToday in 2002, President George W. Bush unilaterally withdrew the United States from the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty in order to rapidly “develop and deploy effective defenses against limited missile attacks … by rogue states armed with weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles.”
The 11th Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ended last week as it had in 2015 and 2022, deadlocked over a single regional issue, in this case Iran. The deadlock will be a subject of continuing debate, but here are a few initial observations from @markwgoodman.bsky.social.
The 11th NPT Review Conference ends with a whimper
The 11th Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ended last week as it had in 2015 and 2022, deadlocked over a single regional issue, in this case Iran. The outcome shows why NPT…
thebulletin.org
The Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference has gone into closed session, without NGOs or live streaming. This give me the chance to update my series of posts on the conference.
This is my fifth post on the NPT Review Conference. Last Wednesday the conference president released his initial draft outcome document. The public negotiations will be mostly for show. The real work will take place behind the scenes. open.substack.com/pub/markwgoo...
Decorating the Christmas Tree
Negotiating a final document
open.substack.com
After 12 years as the Bulletin's editor in chief, John Mecklin @meckdevil.bsky.social is stepping down. If you're a deep thinker and top-flight journalist, here are the reasons you should want to replace him, from the man himself.
Take my job. Please.
After 12 years as the Bulletin's editor in chief, John Mecklin steps down. If you're a deep thinker and top-flight journalist, here's why you should want to replace him.
thebulletin.org
My latest post on the airing of grievances at the NPT Review Conference. The problem with airing grievances at the start of the conference is that it makes it harder to achieve feats of strength -- compromise and consensus -- at the end. open.substack.com/pub/markwgoo...
Multilateral Diplomacy as Festivus
The airing of grievances is underway. Will there be feats of strength?
open.substack.com
As the #NPTRevCon gets underway, ELN Senior Network member Jan Hoekema continues our collaboration with @thebulletin.org. He writes that despite low expectations, small victories remain attainable. thebulletin.org/2026/04/prop...
Proposals for a brighter NPT Review Conference in times of nonproliferation darkness
In a dark world of wars and shifting geopolitical alignments, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is needed more than even some state parties may realize.
thebulletin.org
In a dark world of wars and shifting geopolitical alignments, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is needed more than even some state parties may realize, writes Jan Hoekema. "The NPT is robust and serves the interests of all, no matter how varied the ideas, wishes, and demands of parties may be."
Proposals for a brighter NPT Review Conference in times of nonproliferation darkness
In a dark world of wars and shifting geopolitical alignments, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is needed more than even some state parties may realize.
thebulletin.org
Here's my second post on the NPT Review Conference. It's a summary of an article by Adam Scheinman and me in the @thebulletin.org on how to salvage the conference. It's not too soon, and I hope it's not too late. markwgoodman.substack.com/p/how-to-sal...
How to Salvage the NPT Review Conference
It’s not too soon to start. I hope it’s not to late.
markwgoodman.substack.com
I'm writing a series of substack posts on the NPT Review Conference. The first one revisits an article I wrote in the @thebulletin.org last year on misconceptions about the NPT. markwgoodman.substack.com/p/the-non-pr...
The Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference
Reminiscences and reflections of a practitioner
markwgoodman.substack.com
My latest post with reflections on the upcoming NPT Review Conference. More to come. open.substack.com/pub/markwgoo...
The Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference
Reminiscences and reflections of a practitioner
open.substack.com
What, exactly, is the Golden Dome? Could it work? And is it likely to be affordable? To answer those questions, it's necessary to go back in time, to the Reagan-era SDI program (alias "Star Wars") and even earlier, writes Jeff Hecht @jhecht.bsky.social. ⬇️
Space-based missile defense: Golden Dome or gold brick?
To justify US attempts to acquire Greenland, the Trump administration has argued—among other things—that this island is essential to the operation of the
thebulletin.org