Readers Forum - Arms Control Today

All Together Now

2009-10-06T10:35:00.002-04:00

By Daryl G. Kimball

Global problems require global solutions, along with effective leadership and cooperation. For years, as leading players have failed to agree on how to bolster the beleaguered nonproliferation system, the threats posed by nuclear weapons have become more complex and difficult to solve.

But in a welcome shift, President Barack Obama won UN Security Council backing last month for a practical and comprehensive action plan to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons. Whether this special Security Council meeting and Resolution 1887 mark a true turning point depends on the steps taken in the next few weeks and months. Nonetheless, it is a rare step forward that comes at a critical time.

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Getting to Zero Starts Here: Tactical Nuclear Weapons

2009-10-06T10:32:00.000-04:00

By Catherine M. Kelleher and Scott L. Warren

A critical debate on nuclear weapons is once again in the limelight. President Barack Obama has unequivocally, ambitiously, and repeatedly stated his ultimate vision of a world without nuclear weapons. Under the Obama policy, zero nuclear weapons is, for the first time in U.S. history, an operational, tangible U.S. policy goal and thus a measuring stick against which to judge a host of shorter-range, less ambitious initiatives or actions.

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Making a Mark in Space: An Analysis of Obama’s Options For a New U.S. Space Policy

2009-10-06T10:29:00.000-04:00

By Victoria Samson

The change of U.S. administrations creates the opportunity for a broad assessment of the country’s space policy, starting with some basic questions.

What should the goal of national space policies be? Are they trying to ensure freedom of action for certain states and not others? Does the definition of “freedom of action” need to be updated to reflect the increasing number of space actors? Should the focus be on establishing future cooperative efforts in space, or is space being preserved just for its own sake?

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Learning From the 1999 Vote on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

2009-10-06T10:27:00.000-04:00

By Daryl G. Kimball

When President Bill Clinton described the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as “the longest-sought, hardest fought prize in arms control history,” he was not exaggerating. In the face of international outrage over their rapid-fire pace of Cold War testing, U.S. and Soviet leaders attempted in 1958-1959 and again in 1963 to negotiate a comprehensive ban on all nuclear test explosions. They came close but were unable to agree on the details for inspections and had to settle for the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atmospheric testing. The United States, Russia, and other states conducted hundreds more nuclear tests underground, which enabled further arms racing and proliferation.

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Obama Shifts Gears on Missile Defense

2009-10-06T10:24:00.001-04:00

By Cole Harvey

The Obama administration announced Sept. 17 that it will not develop a planned missile interceptor field in Poland and radar facility in the Czech Republic, as envisioned by the Bush administration. Instead, the United States will implement a new missile defense program, designed around the Navy’s Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), to counter short- and medium-range Iranian missiles, according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. In announcing the change, President Barack Obama said that the new missile defense architecture in Europe “will provide stronger, smarter, and swifter defenses of American forces and America’s allies” than the Bush-era plan.

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North Korea, U.S. Seen Preparing for Talks

2009-10-06T10:21:00.000-04:00

By Peter Crail

The United States is ready to hold direct talks with North Korea on denuclearization, potentially paving the way for the Obama administration’s first formal discussions with Pyongyang, U.S. officials said in September.

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Indian Scientist Triggers Debate on Testing

2009-10-06T09:48:00.000-04:00

By Daniel Horner

A leading Indian nuclear scientist has said the yield from India’s 1998 test of a thermonuclear device was less than expected and that the country should not close off the option of further tests.

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Nuclear Arms Resolution Passed at UN Summit

2009-10-06T09:44:00.001-04:00

By Cole Harvey

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a U.S.-sponsored resolution seeking “to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons” Sept. 24, endorsing many of measures laid out in President Barack Obama’s April 5 speech inPrague. (See ACT, May 2009.) The resolution also lays the political groundwork for strengthening the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) regime and tightening nuclear export controls. It also demands that Iran and North Korea comply with their obligations under previous Security Council resolutions.

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Clinton Makes Case for CTBT at Conference

2009-10-06T09:42:00.000-04:00

By Meri Lugo

A global nuclear test ban would increase U.S. security because “as long as we are confronted with the prospect of nuclear testing by others, we will face the potential threat of newer, more powerful, and more sophisticated weapons that could cause damage beyond our imagination,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sept. 24 in New York.

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Talks on Fuel Bank Stalled at IAEA

2009-10-06T09:38:00.001-04:00

By Daniel Horner and Oliver Meier

Plans to establish an international nuclear fuel bank, a key part of nonproliferation programs put forward by several world leaders, have failed to receive the support they need to start being put in place.

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U.S. Expands Lead in Shrinking Arms Market

2009-10-06T09:34:00.000-04:00

By Andrew Fisher

In the midst of a global recession that reduced the global demand for weapons, the United States managed to expand its share of worldwide arms agreements significantly in 2008, according to a September report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Last year, developing countries continued to be the most important markets for arms sales, the report said.In the midst of a global recession that reduced the global demand for weapons, the United States managed to expand its share of worldwide arms agreements significantly in 2008, according to a September report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Last year, developing countries continued to be the most important markets for arms sales, the report said.

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Russia Defends Struggling Missile Program

2009-10-06T09:32:00.001-04:00

By Luke Champlin

Russian leaders remain committed to the Bulava RSM-56 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) despite a number of high-profile test failures, a top military official said Aug. 26.

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Secret Iranian Enrichment Facility Revealed

2009-10-06T09:29:00.000-04:00

By Peter Crail

Iran has been constructing a second uranium-enrichment facility in secret, the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced during a Sept. 25 press briefing. In a statement delivered on behalf of the three countries and Germany, President Barack Obama said “the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program.”

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IAEA’s Syria Probe Remains Stalled

2009-10-06T09:25:00.001-04:00

By Peter Crail and Anna Hood

Syria continues to refuse full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) investigation into allegations that it pursued a secret nuclear weapons program, according to an Aug. 28 IAEA report. Syria has not given the agency access to additional sites of interest or turned over sufficient information to explain the presence of undeclared uranium particles detected last year, the report said.

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In Memoriam: Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009)

2009-10-06T09:17:00.002-04:00

By Christopher Paine

With the recent passing of Edward Moore Kennedy, the arms control community has lost its longest-serving and most stalwart champion in the U.S. Senate. Although he sponsored and supported numerous arms control efforts, including the nuclear freeze resolution, that influenced U.S. policy, the Massachusetts Democrat never fancied himself a nuclear arms control “expert.” The dehumanizing arms control lexicon of force exchange ratios, throw weights, and strategic stability held no appeal for him. He left mastery of this arcane discipline to others, recognizing it for what it was—at best a temporary mechanism for containing the frightening risks and soaring costs of the nuclear arms race, at worst a lulling deception that ignored the mounting dangers of the world’s nuclear predicament. Kennedy knew full well that the nuclear strategists and weapons scientists did not have the answers and that it was the task of political leaders to find a way to bridge the Cold War divide and set the world on a saner path toward nuclear disarmament.

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Change U.S. Nuclear Policy? Yes, We Can.

2009-09-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

By Daryl G. Kimball

As the administration of President Barack Obama works to complete the congressionally mandated Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) by early 2010, it is clear to most that yesterday’s nuclear doctrines are no longer appropriate for today’s realities.

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Building Up the Regime for Verifying the CTBT

2009-09-04T15:08:00.000-04:00

By Ambassador Tibor Tóth

Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made in building up the unique verification regime of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to monitor the globe for nuclear explosions.

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Can This Treaty Be Saved? Breaking the Stalemate on Conventional Forces in Europe

2009-09-04T15:05:00.000-04:00

By Wolfgang Zellner

Overshadowed by more pressing issues—Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and global terrorism—European security relations with Russia have deteriorated dramatically since the late 1990s. Over the last 10 years, European security policy has been increasingly dominated by unilateral and frequently confrontational approaches.

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Breakthrough and Breakdown at the Conference on Disarmament: Assessing the Prospects for an FM(C)T

2009-09-04T15:01:00.000-04:00

By Paul Meyer

The May 29 adoption of a program of work by the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva marked the first time in 11 years that the 65-member body had taken such action. That step was a cause for celebration as it appeared to open the door to the negotiation of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

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Robert McNamara’s Logical Legacy

2009-09-04T14:57:00.000-04:00

By J. Peter Scoblic

When Robert S. McNamara, the former secretary of defense and so-called architect of the Vietnam War, died this summer at the age of 93, he left behind a fraught legacy.

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Burnishing Reagan’s Disarmament Credentials

2009-09-04T14:53:00.001-04:00

By Paul Boyer

The husband-and-wife team of Martin and Annelise Anderson has established a cottage industry of producing works enhancing Ronald Reagan’s image. The truly Herculean labors of the Andersons, who are based at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, have already given us Reagan in His Own Hand (2001), a selection of the future president’s radio talks; Reagan: A Life in Letters (2004); Reagan’s Path to Victory: The Shaping of Ronald Reagan’s Vision (2004); Stories in His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan (2007); and Reagan in His Own Voice, a three-CD set of the radio talks.

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African NWFZ Treaty Enters Into Force

2009-09-04T12:30:00.000-04:00

By Cole Harvey

Burundi became the 28th country to ratify the 1996 Treaty of Pelindaba July 15, meeting the pact’s requirement for entry into force and creating a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) in Africa. The treaty prohibits the possession, development, manufacture, testing, or deployment of nuclear weapons on the African continent and associated islands.

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Arms Collection Begins in Southern Sudan

2009-09-04T12:26:00.001-04:00

By Emma Ensign

Authorities in Sudan have begun a series of weapons collection programs aimed at increasing security in the semiautonomous southern region of the country as part of an effort to increase stability there prior to national elections scheduled for April. The disarmament campaigns, which require civilians and the military to give up small arms, are mandated by a 2005 peace agreement. But the financial and political weakness of southern Sudan’s government has led some observers to question its ability to carry out the campaigns successfully, in spite of assistance from the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

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Iran Grants Reactor Access to IAEA

2009-09-04T12:23:00.000-04:00

Peter Crail

Iran last month accepted long-standing requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for greater access to two key nuclear facilities, diplomatic sources said in August. The move appears to represent a shift in Iran’s willingness to cooperate with the agency, which has expressed increasing concern with Tehran’s lack of transparency on certain activities.

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South Korea Attempts First Space Launch

2009-09-04T12:20:00.000-04:00

By Peter Crail

South Korea carried out its inaugural space launch attempt Aug. 25, seeking for the first time to place a satellite in orbit using its own rocket. South Korean officials described the launch as “partially successful,” as the on-board satellite overshot its intended orbit. South Korea is planning another attempt next year, Education and Science Minister Ahn Byong-man said at a press conference following the unsuccessful orbit.

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