Obama and the Bomb
Description
This book is the first study of how President Barack Obama and his administration used the negotiation and ratification of an arms control treaty, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), as a vehicle for advancing one of the president's primary foreign policy objectives, a reset of US relations with Russia in the early years of his first term of office. It is a study of the administration's efforts to move from a president's strategic vision to defining that vision as a policy priority and ultimately, successfully negotiating what the president deemed the first and most important element of the reset agenda.
Reviews / Votes
" Obama and the Bomb provides a detailed recounting of a highly specific topic. At face value, it is written for a niche audience. The incorporation of broader themes, however, expands the book's potential reader base to include mid-grade and senior military leaders, albeit primarily to amplify material for a professional military education institution." (Brennan Deveraux, Parameters, Vol. 56 (2), 2026)
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Person
Frank Leith Jones is a distinguished fellow of the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he taught in the Department of National Security and Strategy until his retirement in 2022. He is the author of Blowtorch: Robert Komer, Vietnam, and American Cold War Strategy (2013) and Sam Nunn: Statesman of the Nuclear Age (2020).
Content
Introduction.- Chapter 1: "A Bold and Overarching Vision".- Chapter 2: Resetting a Relationship.- Chapter 3: Getting Started.- Chapter 4: Touching Noses and Talking Frankly.- Chapter 5: A Process Now in Play.- Chapter 6: Contending Concerns.- Chapter 7: Time Has a Price.- Chapter 8: New Obstacles.- Chapter 9: Success at Last.- Chapter 10: Great Expectations.- Chapter 11: The Ratification Battle Begins.- Chapter 12: The Next Push.- Chapter 13: The Ayes Have It.- Chapter 14: The Four Factors.- Conclusion.