Arms Control Today articles from January 2009

Arms Control Today archives from January 2009

Editor's note.
January 1, 2009... Barack Obama faces a daunting array of arms control and nonproliferation challenges as he becomes the 44th U.S. president. In this month's issue, we have asked some of the country's leading experts to offer him guidance on how to cope with...

Reassessing the role of nuclear weapons.(FOCUS)
January 1, 2009... Beginning Jan. 20, U.S. nuclear weapons policy can and must change. The U.S.-Soviet standoff that gave rise to tens of thousands of nuclear weapons is over, but the policies developed to justify their possession and potential use remain largely...

Notable quotable.(Dick Cheney)(Quotation)
January 1, 2009... "The president of the United States now for 50 years is followed at all times, 24 hours a day, by a military aide carrying a football that contains the nuclear codes that he would use and be authorized to use in the event of a nuclear attack on...

A democratic view: toward a more responsible nuclear nonproliferation strategy.(Five Years Ago in ACT)(Carl Levin and Jack Reed)(Quotation)
January 1, 2009... Military preemption is no substitute for a comprehensive and preventive arms control and nonproliferation strategy, which remains our first line of defense against the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD). -Senators Carl...

By the numbers: anti-personnel landmines.(In BRIEF)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... $430 million Total international donations to support mine action * in 2007. Down from $475 million in 2006. 176 million Total number of anti-personnel landmines estimated to be stockpiled by 44 countries in 2007. More than 130...

Orienting the 2009 nuclear posture review: a roadmap.(Reports of Note)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... By Andrew Grotto and Joe Cirincione, Center for American Progress, November 2008. Andrew Grotto, a senior national security analyst at the Center for American Progress, and Joe Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, contend that a...

Nuclear weapons in 21st century U.S. national security.(Reports of Note)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Working Group of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Physical Society, and the Center for Stategic and International Studies, December 2008. This report, authored by a working group drawn from several...

Chemical and biochemical non-lethal weapons: political and technical aspects.(Reports of Note)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Ronald G. Sutherland, SIPRI Policy Paper No. 23, November 2008. Addressing the continuing debate regarding the appropriate use, if any, of "nonlethal" chemical and biological weapons, Ronald G. Sutherland, an expert on chemical weapons...

Wassenaar Arrangement.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... At their annual meeting Dec. 2-3 in Vienna, the members of the voluntary Wassenaar Arrangement, which monitors and creates guidelines for the export of conventional arms as well as goods and technologies that have both military and civilian...

On the calendar.(What's Ahead)(Brief article)(Calendar)
January 1, 2009... Jan. 19-Mar. 27 UN Conference on Disarmament, first session, Geneva. Feb. 16-20 Group of governmental experts on cluster munitions meeting, Convention on Certain Conventional ...

Engagement with Russia: managing risks, repairing rifts.(Recommendations to the President)
January 1, 2009... The U.S. security relationship with Russia is a matter that is more significant to the U.S. government and the American people than was apparent during the presidential election. Elections are primarily about attitudes. The exercise of power is...

Drawing a bright redline: forestalling nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.(Recommendations to the President)
January 1, 2009... If Iran goes nuclear, so too will more of its neighbors, or so says the established wisdom. It is a logical deduction given the extent to which Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey feel a need to maintain power and political parity with Iran and the...

Dealing with North Korea: "diplomatic warfare" ahead.(Recommendations to the President)
January 1, 2009... U.S. presidents have struggled with the challenges posed by a hostile North Korea since the end of the Korean War and with the dangers of a nuclear North since the mid-1980s. The diplomatic struggle over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program...

Chinese-U.S. strategic affairs: dangerous dynamism.(Recommendations to the President)
January 1, 2009... Many aspects of the Chinese-U.S. relationship are mutually beneficial: some $400 billion in trade, bilateral, military exchanges, and Beijing's increasingly constructive diplomatic role. There are other grounds for concern. Each side's...

Stepping back from the brink: avoiding a nuclear March of Folly in South Asia.(Recommendations to the President)
January 1, 2009... Historian Barbara Tuchman described the trail of misperceptions and bad decisions that led to mankind's worst self-imposed disasters as a "March of Folly." Now is the time for India and Pakistan to take steps to ensure that another war or...

Countries sign Cluster Munitions Convention.(In The NEWS)
January 1, 2009... During a December ceremony in Oslo, 94 countries signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), including many western European countries that have stockpiled and produced the weapons. Unexpectedly, Afghanistan also agreed to the treaty,...

States approve OPCW budget, not report.(THE WORLD)(Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)
January 1, 2009... A Dec. 2-5 meeting in The Hague of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) states-parties failed to adopt a consensus final report but agreed on a budget for 2009 and modest measures to reform the treaty's verification system. The 126...

BWC states address safety, security measures.(THE WORLD)(Biological Weapons Convention)
January 1, 2009... At a Dec. 1-5 meeting, states-parties to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) discussed steps to improve the safety and security of biological agents as well as oversight mechanisms to prevent the misuse of biotechnology for hostile...

EU issues space code of conduct.(THE WORLD)(European Union)
January 1, 2009... In December, the European Union issued a draft code of conduct for outer space activities that skirted many thorny issues that have plagued prior international efforts to prevent an arms race in outer space. Designed to encompass civilian and...

Report predicts future global arms trends.(THE WORLD)(Global Trends 2025)
January 1, 2009... The National Intelligence Council (NIC) released its fourth Global Trends report on Nov. 20, timed to correspond every four years to the period of transition between presidential administrations. Chaired by Deputy Director of National...

Landmine Ban deadlines extended.(THE WORLD)
January 1, 2009... At the ninth meeting of states-parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Convention, also referred to as the Ottawa Convention, in November 2008, 15 countries requested and received extensions to their 2009 demining deadlines. The United Kingdom received a...

WMD commission issues findings.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)(Commission on the Prevention of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism)
January 1, 2009... On Dec. 3, a congressionally mandated commission released a report offering 15 recommendations to help the U.S. government improve its ability to prevent and respond to threats of biological and nuclear terrorism. Drawing even more attention...

Test hit, diplomatic flop for U.S. missile defense.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
January 1, 2009... The Bush administration scored a hit in a recent test of a U.S.-based strategic anti-missile system, but struck out in talks to ease Russian opposition to the planned stationing of a similar system in Europe. The lead U.S. negotiator said the...

U.S. ratifies additional protocol.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... President George W. Bush Dec. 30 signed the instrument of ratification for a U.S. additional protocol to its International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards agreement. Although the United States is a nuclear-weapon state under the nuclear...

Compliance report delays continue.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
January 1, 2009... One of the stated cornerstones of the Bush administration's approach to arms control and non-proliferation issues has been an increased emphasis on ensuring that other countries comply with their arms control and non-proliferation agreements....

Six-party talks stall over sampling.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)
January 1, 2009... The latest round of six-way talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea ended Dec. 11 in stalemate as the parties continued to disagree on the issue of verifying North Korea's nuclear activities. The four days of talks are expected to have marked...

Russia, India Ink Nuke cooperation deal.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)
January 1, 2009... During a Dec. 5 visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to New Delhi, Russia agreed to provide India with four new nuclear power plants as part of a nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries. The agreement marks the third such...

Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone formed.(EUROPE AND THE FORMERS SOVIER UNION)
January 1, 2009... Kazakhstan ratified a treaty establishing the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ) Dec. 11, allowing it to enter into force in early 2009. Breaking from typical practice, the treaty lacks the endorsement of three of the five official...

EU pledges funds for IAEA fuel bank.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)(European Union on International Atomic Energy Agency)
January 1, 2009... The European Union Dec. 8 pledged 25 million euros (about $33 million) toward the establishment of a nuclear fuel bank under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The EU contribution means that supporters have come...

Israel is a greater threat than Iran.(Letter)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... I was very shocked by the publication of Chuck Freilich's article "The United States, Israel, and Iran: Defusing an 'Existential' Threat" in the November 2008 Arms Control Today. Instead of ACT's usual careful analysis of a problem, this...

Correction.(Correction notice)
January 1, 2009... * On page 44 of Arms Control Today's May 2008 issue, the news article "African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Nears Realization" stated that Mozambique "became the 24th country to ratify the Pelindaba Treaty, which means that the treaty needs only...