Seven countries have eliminated, or greatly reduced, their arsenal of weapons-usable nuclear materials since the Nuclear Threat Initiative first released its annual index of nuclear materials security in 2012, according to an NTI release. The 2014 NTI Index, which was released Jan. 8, assesses the security of nuclear materials in 176 countries. Those countries that have “clean[ed] out,” include Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico, Sweden, Ukraine, and Vietnam, states a release summarizing the report’s findings. Australia once again ranks first among the 25 states with weapons-usable nuclear materials, states the report. However, NTI notes Australia has improved its score by reducing some of its arsenal and by ratifying an international legal agreement that criminalizes nuclear terrorism. According to the Index, Pakistan is “the most improved” among the nuclear-armed states, thanks to “a series of steps [taken] to update nuclear security regulations and to implement best practices,” states the report. The NTI Index recommends nuclear-capable states work together to find an “effective global system” that regulates all nuclear material, including those in the military, states the release. “No one would have confidence in an international aviation system if regulations only applied to 15 percent of the planes that fly,” said NTI President Joan Rohlfing. “Why should our nuclear materials security rules apply only to a small fraction of these dangerous materials?”
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
