Arms Control Today articles from December 2006

Arms Control Today archives from December 2006

Editor's note.
December 1, 2006... The nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) has suffered a number of blows in recent years, from the disappointing outcome of the 2005 treaty review conference to an inability to staunch Iran's nuclear ambitions and concerns that a pending...

Anything but conventional.(FOCUS)(US should stop arms trade)
December 1, 2006... What is the most serious weapons-related security threat? The answer depends on who you are and where you live. For many Westerners, the biggest worry may be catastrophic nuclear terrorism. But for millions of people in conflict-ridden...

Notable quotable.(InBRIEF)(U.S civilian nuclear trade deal with India)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... "The endorsement pushes America a giant step closer to a major shift in U.S-Indian relations. If we are right, this shift will increase the prospect for stability and progress in South Asia and in the world at large." --Senator Joseph...

Lehman's lessons: the arms control agenda.(Fifteen Years Ago in ACT)
December 1, 2006... But we still have a fundamental problem: the government in Pyongyang is continuing to press ahead on a program to develop nuclear weapons. This is a matter of urgent global concern, a regional security threat, and a nonproliferation priority....

By the numbers.(InBRIEF)(disarmament issues at the United Nations)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Selected UN First Committee Votes* 175-2-4 Resolution supporting the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The United States and North Korea voted no. Colombia, India, Mauritius, and Syria abstained. 172-1-0 Resolution supporting...

Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... France, Ireland, and Hungary became the latest states to agree to be bound by Protocol V of the CCW. The new protocol, which entered into force Nov. 12, aims to reduce the effects of unexploded or abandoned ordnance and the hazards it poses to...

U.S.-Russian nuclear security upgrades.(Treaty Update)(National Nuclear Security Administration)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently completed upgrades to 50 Russian navy nuclear sites to prevent theft of nuclear material by terrorists or others. The security upgrades at all the navy-affiliated sites were completed...

Australia-Indonesia nuclear agreement.(Treaty Update)
December 1, 2006... On Nov. 10, Australia and Indonesia signed a comprehensive security agreement that includes a provision for Australia to provide assistance in the development of Indonesia's nuclear program. The agreement also allows for the sale of uranium to...

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Montenegro became the two latest countries to endorse the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. On Nov. 13 the Republic of Montenegro became the 177th state to sign the treaty, while on Nov. 7 Bosnia and...

Missile Technology Control Regime.(Treaty Update)(South Korea agrees to rules regarding cruise missiles)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... South Korea in late October apparently conducted an inaugural flight test of a cruise missile capable of traveling 1,000 kilometers. Prior to joining the voluntary Missile Technology Control Regime, Seoul vowed in 2001 not to develop missiles...

192-member UN General Assembly.(Comings and Goings)(Ban Ki-moon appointed)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The 192-member UN General Assembly has appointed South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to succeed Kofi Annan as the next UN secretary-general. On Jan. 1, Ban will become the eighth secretary-general in the UN's 60-year history. He will...

University of Virginia.(Comings and Goings)(Philip D. Zelikow)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Philip D. Zelikow has announced that he is resigning his post as Department of State counselor to return to the University of Virginia where he has an endowed chair as a history professor.

National Security Council.(Comings and Goings)(Frederick Jones resigns)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Frederick Jones has announced that he is leaving as chief spokesperson of the National Security Council. He is being replaced by Gordon Johndroe, who is currently director of strategic communications and planning at the State Department.

On the calendar.(What's Ahead)
December 1, 2006... Dec. 5-8 Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: 11th Session of the Conference of the State Parties, The Hague. Dec. 12 15th anniversary of the Cooperative Threat...

Half full or half empty? Realizing the promise of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.(Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 1968)
December 1, 2006... Some analysts are already writing the epitaph for the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Others are dusting off Cold War prognosis about nuclear chain reactions, arguing that the treaty has failed and that more and more states will break...

The Conference on Disarmament: time is running out.
December 1, 2006... The problems confronting the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD) were succinctly and correctly diagnosed in the June 2005 final report of the congressionally mandated bipartisan Task Force on the United Nations: As the multilateral...

The Conference on Disarmament: getting back to business.(nuclear arms control)
December 1, 2006... The 65-member-state Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva last negotiated a treaty in 1996, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and for the intervening decade has been engaged in on-and-off discussions that often seemed remote from its...

The Conference on Disarmament: means of rejuvenation.
December 1, 2006... After a long and successful run, the Conference on Disarmament (CD) has fallen on hard times. The negotiating forum that has produced treaties setting norms against nuclear testing and chemical and biological weapons has, for the last 10 years,...

Senate passes U.S.-Indian nuclear trade bill.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
December 1, 2006... The Senate Nov. 16 overwhelmingly approved a bill to facilitate expanded civil nuclear trade with India. The House earlier this year passed similar legislation. The two congressional chambers hope to negotiate a compromise measure for President...

U.S. maintains perch atop rising arms market.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)(Statistical data)
December 1, 2006... Russia and France last year eclipsed the United States in arms sales to developing countries, but Washington still led in total global weapons deals, according to a recent report to Congress. The United States has ranked as the world's most...

Security Council deadlocks on Iran.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)
December 1, 2006... The UN Security Council's five permanent members remained deadlocked in November on a resolution that would address Iran's continued refusal to suspend its uranium-enrichment program. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)...

Iran's Enrichment efforts advance.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)
December 1, 2006... Iran continues to advance its nuclear programs even as diplomatic efforts to contain it continue, according to a Nov. 14 report from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei to the agency's Board of...

Problems with Iraq, weapons persist.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)
December 1, 2006... The United States has lost track of thousands of weapons provided to Iraqi troops, according to an Oct. 28 report from the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR). Several days later, the office of Director of...

North Korea sanctions detailed.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)(arms contol measures in North Korea)
December 1, 2006... Since North Korea agreed Oct. 31 to return to multilateral negotiations designed to resolve the crisis surrounding its nuclear weapons program, officials from other participants in the six-party talks have held a series of preparatory meetings....

New details emerge on NK nuclear program.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)
December 1, 2006... Several weeks after North Korea's early October announcement that it had successfully tested a nuclear device, new information is emerging about the test and Pyongyang's plutonium-based nuclear weapons program. Still, much uncertainty remains...

Arms trade treaty effort endorsed.(THE WORLD)
December 1, 2006... UN member states recently overwhelmingly endorsed an effort to craft a treaty to regulate the international conventional arms trade. A final accord is by no means assured, however, as two dozen leading arms buyers and sellers abstained from the...

Cluster munition, anti-vehicle mine limits sought.(THE WORLD)
December 1, 2006... Upset at the lack of progress at a November meeting on multilateral arms issues, some states took matters into their own hands. Norway announced plans to lead negotiations on banning cluster munitions, while Australia, Denmark, and the United...

Anti-nuclear terrorism principles issued.(THE WORLD)
December 1, 2006... Led by the United States and Russia, 13 countries recently promulgated eight general principles for averting and responding to nuclear terrorism. The group will meet in February to discuss further actions. The principles emerged from the...

U.S. reports on nuclear treaty implementation.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)(Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty)(1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)
December 1, 2006... The Department of State recently reported to lawmakers that the United States and Russia appear on pace to fulfill the terms of a 2002 nuclear treaty but also admitted that Washington has no plan on what should happen in relation to the 2009...

Book review: back to the future.(A Moment of Crisis: Jimmy Carter, The Power of a Peacemaker, and North Korea's Nuclear Ambitions)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... A Moment of Crisis: Jimmy Carter, The Power of a Peacemaker, and North Korea's Nuclear Ambitions By Marion Creekmore, Jr. PublicAffairs, August 2006, 406 pp. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Not even North Korea's October 2006 nuclear test...

India's Nuclear Bomb and National Security.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... India's Nuclear Bomb and National Security By Karsten Fey, Taylor & Francis Books, August 2006, 208 pp. Karsten Fey, a research fellow at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, probes the motives and dynamics of India's...

Japan's Nuclear Disarmament Policy and the U.S. Security Umbrella.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... Japan's Nuclear Disarmament Policy and the U.S. Security Umbrella By Anthony DiFilippo, Palgrave-Macmillian, October 2006, 288 pp. This book appears at a particularly timely moment as North Korea's Oct. 9 nuclear test has prompted...

Verifying Treaty Compliance: Limiting Weapons of Mass Destruction and Monitoring Kyoto Protocol Provisions.(Books OF NOTE)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... Verifying Treaty Compliance: Limiting Weapons of Mass Destruction and Monitoring Kyoto Protocol Provisions Rudolf Avenhaus et al., eds., Springer, July 2006, 629 pp. This volume of expert analyses includes a comprehensive overview of...