Arms Control Today articles from July 2002

Arms Control Today archives from July 2002

Do as I say, not as I do. (Focus).(India and Pakistan dispute over Kashmir)(Brief Article)(Column)
July 1, 2002... As tensions mounted in recent months between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir, massive troop deployments, cross-border shelling, and tough talk in New Delhi and Islamabad brought the two nuclear-armed rivals to the...

Avoiding another close call in South Asia: as in 1990 and 1999, the United States has intervened diplomatically to avert war in South Asia, making George W. Bush the third president in a row to be drawn into the Kashmir dispute.(Pakistan and India dispute over Kashmir)
July 1, 2002... Nuclear weapons have yet to bring about a hoped-for period of detente and stability between India and Pakistan. So far, the subcontinent's nuclear era has been marked by chronic crises and close calls: India and Pakistan have come close to war...

On thin ice: first steps for the ballistic missile code of conduct; missiles have never been regarded as inherently 'bad,' and this lack of a norm has become an increasingly evident problem as the MTCR has failed to stem proliferation adequately.(Missile Technology Control Regime)
July 1, 2002... From the earliest days of its development, the ballistic missile has been ascribed an almost supernatural power to generate terror. As the first V-2s began to fall on London in 1944, British scientist R. V. Jones noted that British politicians...

U.S. withdraws from ABM Treaty; global response muted. (News and Negotiations).
July 1, 2002... THE UNITED STATES withdrew from the landmark 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty on June 13. Little pageantry or protest marked the U.S. move abrogating the treaty and its prohibition against nationwide missile defenses, despite often...

Russia declares itself no longer bound by START II. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... RESPONDING TO THE U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty the previous day, Russia declared June 14 that it would no longer be bound by the START II nuclear arms reduction agreement. Moscow's announcement was more...

CD inches closer to starting negotiations. (News and Negotiations).(United Nations Conference on Disarmament)(China)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... CHINA BACKED AWAY from a longstanding demand for immediate negotiation of an outer space treaty in June, creating the slim possibility that the Geneva-based UN Conference on Disarmament (CD) might break through an almost four-year impasse,...

New nuclear accord submitted to U.S., Russian lawmakers. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... IN THE THIRD week of June, Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin submitted their recently concluded Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty to their respective legislatures for approval. The U.S. and Russian legislatures are expected to...

PAC-3 production to continue despite program shortcomings. (News and Negotiations).(Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... DESPITE FAILURES IN each of its last four intercept tests, production and deployment of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile defense system should continue, a senior Pentagon official said June 20. Lieutenant General Ronald...

Sea-based missile defense scores second straight hit. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... THE PENTAGON MAY accelerate testing plans for a Navy theater missile defense system that scored its second straight hit of a ballistic missile target in a June 13 test. In the test of the sea-based midcourse system, which is designed to...

U.S. announces it uncovered 'dirty bomb' plot. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN Ashcroft announced June 10 that the FBI had captured a man who aimed to construct and set off a radiological device, or "dirty bomb," in the United States. However, later that day senior U.S. officials backed away from...

United States, Russia approve new 'HEU deal' contract. (News and Negotiations).(highly enriched uranium)(USEC Inc.)(Techsnabexport)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... ENDING YEARS OF negotiation, the United States and Russia have approved a new contract that will allow a key nonproliferation agreement to move forward, the State Department announced June 19. The 1993 Highly Enriched Uranium Purchase...

Australia Group concludes new chem-bio control measures. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... MEETING JUNE 3-6 in Paris, members of the Australia Group concluded a number of new measures that significantly expand the group's controls on the export of chemical and biological weapons-related goods and technology. The 33 members of...

Court ruling allows plutonium shipments to South Carolina. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... IN MID-JUNE, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed by South Carolina to block the delivery of plutonium to the state's Savannah River Site. The ruling allows the Energy Department to begin the shipments and prevents a delay in the...

U.S., Bulgaria reach deal to destroy missiles. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... IN AN EFFORT to clear Bulgaria's path to join NATO, the United States and Bulgaria signed an agreement on May 31 to destroy jointly Sofia's short-range SS-23 and Scud-B ballistic missiles as well as its FROG rockets. State Department...

G-8 leaders agree to fund threat reduction programs. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... MEETING IN CANADA for a two-day summit, President George W. Bush and leaders of the world's other top economic powers announced June 27 that they will aim to spend up to $20 billion over the next 10 years to help Russia and other former Soviet...

U.S., Russia, IAEA initiate plan to secure radioactive material. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... IN A MAJOR effort to prevent terrorist acquisition of radioactive material, the United States, Russia, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed June 12 on a new initiative to locate and secure dangerous, unaccounted-for material...

Japanese aide's comments on nuclear policy spark controversy. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... ON MAY 31, a senior Japanese official suggested that Tokyo could revise its longstanding policy of forswearing nuclear weapons but was forced to issue a retraction after his remarks provoked widespread condemnation. Speaking to reporters,...

States hold second missile code of conduct meeting. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... NEARLY 100 COUNTRIES met in Madrid June 17-19 to continue discussions on a revised draft missile "code of conduct" intended to discourage states from developing or acquiring ballistic missiles. According to a State Department official,...

GAO faults U.S. anti-smuggling efforts. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... In May, the General Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report criticizing U.S. efforts to reduce the likelihood of nuclear and radioactive material smuggling abroad. U.S. programs in this area are "not effectively coordinated" and lack an...

U.S. submits weapons-trade data to UN. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... At the end of May, the United States reported to the United Nations that U.S. arms exports last year totaled 2,879 weapons to 23 countries, including Taiwan. This sum ranks as the largest volume of U.S. arms exports for a year since the 1997...

Letter of transmittal and article-by-article analysis of the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions. (Document).(Transcript)
July 1, 2002... On June 20, President George W. Bush sent to the Senate for its advice and consent the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, which the United States and Russia signed May 24. Also known as the "Moscow Treaty," the accord would require the...

U.S. missile defense programs at a glance. (Factfile).
July 1, 2002... For the past five decades, the United States has debated, researched, and worked on the development of defenses to protect U.S. territory against long-range ballistic missile attack. Yet, today, the United States remains far from being able to...