News + Media

	In the News February 27, 2019 Trump and Kim open 2nd nuclear summit Peter O'DowdWBUR Here & Now President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened their second nuclear summit Wednesday in Hanoi. The two leaders had a social dinner together with the formal meetings set for Thursday. Host Peter O'Dowd talks with Here & Now security analyst Jim Walsh, senior research associate at MIT's Security Studies Program.
	In the News February 27, 2019 India, Pakistan exchange fire Ben WatsonDefense One Cautions Vipin Narang of MIT: “Modi overshot the upper limit of what Pakistan would take by hitting in KPK and forced Pakistan’s hand. Neither side wants a war but with this spiraling neither side wants to back down. This is getting ugly quickly. Need off-ramps and now.”
	Analysis + Opinion February 25, 2019 After terrorist attack in Kashmir, will India seek vengeance or de-escalation? Christopher ClaryThe Washington Post On February 14, a suicide bomber in Kashmir drove his explosives-filled vehicle into a bus carrying members of India’s paramilitaries, killing over 40 and injuring dozens more. An Islamist terrorist group, Jaish-e-Muhammad—based in Pakistan though nominally banned by the Pakistani government—reportedly took credit for the attack.
	In the News February 25, 2019 Trump heads to Hanoi for second summit with Kim Steve HermanVoice of America “All it takes is Kim pretending to disarm and Trump pretending to believe him,” says Vipin Narang. “So long as Kim doesn't embarrass Trump publicly by testing a nuclear weapon or a ballistic missile, domestically Trump can keep rinsing and repeating. The advantage for Trump is that Kim's continued expansion of his nuclear weapons program is largely silent, and, at best, shows up on page 10.”
	In the News February 25, 2019 Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan face off in renewed escalation Iain Marlow and Kamran Haider Bloomberg “The last time the Indian Air Force crossed the line of control intentionally and publicly to conduct air strikes was 1971,” said Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at MIT, referring to the Indo-Pakistan war over Bangladesh.
	Analysis + Opinion February 23, 2019 Winning the nuclear game against Putin’s Russia Tobin HarshawBloomberg It’s a question of who would strike whom first, and who would enter the fray. Interview with Vipin Narang on nuclear games and strategy, and the upcoming second meeting with President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Vietnam.
	In the News February 23, 2019 Trump's 'great chemistry' with Kim Jong Un put to test at summit AFP/nhChannel News Asia “I think Trump is calculating that he can run out the clock at least until the end of his first term with this strategy,” said Vipin Narang, “a lot may depend on what Hanoi yields. The risk is if Kim decides this unilateral testing moratorium - because it's not in writing - no longer works for him. Then there is no diplomatic exit ramp.”
	In the News February 22, 2019 Best/worst cases for Trump-Kim II Ben WatsonDefense One Previewing next week’s big event in Hanoi, MIT’s Vipin Narang tweeted “My reading of the last couple days’ news on the Hanoi summit is that we should expect, at best, modest progress on what are still exceedingly maximalist goals. The reverse approach—max progress on modest goals—would have been more realistic.”
	In the News February 21, 2019 It’s clearer than ever that the US’s North Korea policy is in total chaos Alex WardVox “We are nowhere,” says MIT nuclear expert Vipin Narang. “Which is probably exactly where the North Koreans want us to be.”
	In the News February 20, 2019 Civilians evacuated from last ISIS-held village in Syria Jeremy HobsonWBUR Here & Now A convoy of trucks carrying hundreds of civilians left the last enclave held by Islamic State militants in eastern Syria Wednesday. Jim Walsh discusses whether this signals the defeat of ISIS.