News + Media

	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.
	News Release February 19, 2019 Urban transportation resource center for Latin American and Caribbean cities Dan Pomeroy \| International Policy Lab The Resource Center, which will be run through a collaboration between World Resources Institute Mexico (WRI Mexico), Massachusetts Institute for Technology’s Civic Data Design Lab, and Columbia University’s Earth Institute, will support the development of open digital urban transport data for and with Latin American and Caribbean cities.
	In the News February 19, 2019 Tensions are rising between India and Pakistan. But Washington doesn’t seem that bothered. Emily TamkinThe Washington Post “The response — calling on Pakistan to crack down on military organizations, the Bolton call released by both sides, the joint statement calling to crack down on terrorism — that’s all good, but we’ve done that before,” Narang said. “It’s the standard response, but, to me, it’s boilerplate.”
	In the News February 18, 2019 Chinese and Iranian hackers renew their attacks on US companies Nicole PerlrothThe New York Times “If you tell the Iranians you’re going to walk out on the agreement and do everything you can to undermine their government,” said Joel Brenner, a former counterintelligence official, “you can’t be surprised if they attack our government networks.”
	In the News February 17, 2019 India weighs military options against Pakistan as Kashmir tensions rise Amy Kazmin Financial Times “He is basically promising a pretty significant retaliatory strike,” said Vipin Narang, professor of political science at the MIT. “All the signs are that they are considering some sort of stand-off strike from across the LOC into Pakistani targets. The risk is that Modi miscalculates how far he can go without provoking a significant Pakistani response.”
	Analysis + Opinion February 16, 2019 Winning the nuclear game against North Korea Tobin HarshawBloomberg Vipin Narang thinks many moves ahead in the international chess of modern deterrence. While not a game theorist himself, Vipin Narang’s beautiful mind is pushing forward on how traditional nuclear deterrence strategy can be modernized for the new era of great-power conflict.
	In the News February 15, 2019 Billions dead: That's what could happen if India and Pakistan wage a nuclear war Zachary KeckThe National Interest The reason why India didn’t respond to force, according to Narang, is that—despite its alleged Cold Start doctrine—Indian leaders were unsure exactly where Pakistan’s nuclear threshold stood. That is, even if Indian leaders believed they were launching a limited attack, they couldn’t be sure that Pakistani leaders wouldn’t view it as expansive enough to justify using nuclear weapons.
	Analysis + Opinion February 13, 2019 US–South Korea military negotiations could cost the alliance Se Young JangEast Asia Forum Inter-Korean rapprochement, ushered in by the series of North–South summits and working-level meetings that took place in 2018, is changing the security environment on the Korean Peninsula. While reconciliation between North and South Korea develops, the latter’s relationship with the United States is running into difficulty. Seoul and Washington failed to renegotiate a defence cost-sharing agreement in 2018, which then expired on 31 December.