News + Media

 
Imagery shows new roads appearing at a key rocket and missile test site in North Korea. The roads (light brown) appear to have been built around mid-March.

In the News

March 27, 2020

North Korea seen expanding rocket launch facility it once promised to dismantle

Geoff BrumfielNPR

Vipin Narang quoted: "It's hard to know what it is, but they're clearly reactivating it and preparing for personnel to be there, which suggests that they may want to start using it again," Narang says. "Maybe they want to test a satellite launch vehicle; maybe they want to test an ICBM; maybe they want to test an engine."

Yemeni soldiers

Analysis + Opinion

March 26, 2020

Yemen's proxy wars explained

Peter Krause, Tyler B ParkerPolitical Violence at a Glance

Five years of war have accentuated the futility of pure military resolutions to the fighting in Yemen. However, its proxy wars are likely to persist, much for the same reason they have persisted in Syria and Libya; namely, because the potential benefits to intervening states still outweigh the costs that they pay to gain control, maintain the status quo, or simply feed the chaos.   

1954's Castle Bravo test

In the News

March 25, 2020

America’s allies are becoming a nuclear-proliferation threat

Pete McKenzieDefense One

Vipin Narang quoted: “The concern is that it’s not a genuine negotiating position, that it’s demanded as an excuse to eventually pull out of South Korea,” Narang said. “There’s a deep enough thread in Trump’s thinking and rhetoric to suggest that he genuinely believes that American [nuclear] assurance and conventional deployments to these allies are a waste of money.”

US Army ready to fight

Analysis + Opinion

March 20, 2020

How coronavirus will affect the US military

Rachel Tecott, Erik SandWashington Post

The coronavirus pandemic will continue to negatively affect US military readiness, leaving the Pentagon to think carefully about how to mitigate the impact on training and overall troop readiness, says Rachel Tecott and Erik Sand in a recent opinion piece originally published in The Washington Post (online).

MISTI Coronavirus Updates

News@E40

March 19, 2020

MISTI Covid-19 updates

MISTI

In response to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, MISTI will provide the most up-to-date information to our students abroad and those who intend to participate in programs abroad over the summer.

Greta Thunberg, protesting in Brussels this month

Analysis + Opinion

March 19, 2020

Coronavirus halts street protests, but climate activists have a plan

Shola LawalThe New York Times

The coronavirus outbreak has prompted climate activists to abandon public demonstrations, one of their most powerful tools for raising public awareness, and shift to online protests. 

MIT President Reif

Analysis + Opinion

March 18, 2020

We lead three universities. It’s time for drastic action.

New York Times

“Is all this disruption really necessary? We believe the answer is yes,” MIT President L Rafael Reif and counterparts Lawrence Bacow ’72 of Harvard University and Marc Tessier-Lavigne of Stanford University write in The New York Timeson the “painful steps” needed to address Covid-19. “The time to act is right now.”

Special Duty book on display

In the News

March 15, 2020

The Japanese intelligence community & espionage

Tony VegaJapan Station: A Podcast by Japankyo.com

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Richard Samuels digs into the world of Japanese spycraft and the history of Japan's intelligence community.

Coronavirus

In the News

March 13, 2020

MIT’s response to Covid-19

MIT

MIT is tracking the Covid-19 (coronavirus) situation daily, offering ongoing updates and guidance. This website offers the latest updates and information on what the Institute is doing.

In the News

March 10, 2020

Why do banking crises occur?

Peter DizikesMIT News

In a new book, political scientist David Singer finds two key factors connected to financial-sector collapses around the globe.

Pages