Episode Notes:

This week, the U.S. announced it is withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF), a bilateral agreement with the U.S.S.R (and Russia thereafter). The Treaty eliminated all intermediate-range, ground-based missile systems. Russia has been widely blamed for non-compliance, calling the value of the INF into question. Here, in Part One of two WarCasts on the INF withdrawal, Vipin Narang, Associate professor of political science at MIT and author of the book, Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era, reviews the U.S.' decision. (~13 minutes)

[ 0:33 ] Introduction [ 1:17 ] How the INF has benefitted the U.S. [ 3:58 ] Russian non-compliance [ 6:05 ] Distinguishing nuclear vs. conventional strikes [ 6:50 ] Effect on regional instability [ 10:29 ] China