Arms Control Today articles from May 2001

Arms Control Today archives from May 2001

The First 100 Days.(presidency of George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... From an arms control perspective, the first 100 days of George W. Bush's presidency have been a disaster. President Bush has demonstrated that he believes, and intends to implement, his campaign rhetoric condemning past arms control...

Europe and Missile Defense: Tactical Considerations, Fundamental Concerns.
May 1, 2001... In the few months since President George W. Bush's inauguration, administration officials and U.S. press reports have given the impression that European leaders have abandoned their oft-stated reservations about and objections to the U.S....

The Chairman's Text Of the BWC Protocol.(Biological Weapons Convention)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... In September 1994, a special conference of the states party to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) ordered the formation of the Ad Hoc Group to negotiate a legally binding protocol to "strengthen the effectiveness" and "improve the...

Executive Summary of the Chairman's Text.(draft protocol to Biological Weapons Convention)
May 1, 2001... General Provisions Article 1 establishes the protocol's purpose, saying it should "strengthen the effectiveness" and "improve the implementation" of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). When implementing the protocol, states-parties...

A Necessary Compromise.(draft protocol to Biological Weapons Convention)
May 1, 2001... In the spring of 1979, the Soviet city of Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg) experienced a deadly outbreak of anthrax. The United States and other countries suspected that the disease was connected with clandestine biological warfare activities-a...

First, Do No Harm.(draft protocol to Biological Weapons Convention)
May 1, 2001... The history of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is punctuated by several paradoxes. It was the first treaty to ban an entire class of weapons, yet it does not contain a single provision to ensure states-parties' compliance. It is also a...

An Essential First Step.(draft protocol to Biological Weapons Convention)
May 1, 2001... For the past five years, discussions and negotiations have been held in Geneva aimed at developing what is sometimes called a verification protocol for the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The original treaty effectively contained no...

Building on Faulty Assumptions.(draft protocol to Biological Weapons Convention)
May 1, 2001... Officials from the United States and other nations are now confronting a critical question: whether the substantive elements of a "vision text" of the protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) offered by the chairman of the Ad Hoc...

A Tough Call.(draft protocol to Biological Weapons Convention)
May 1, 2001... The draft protocol presented by the chairman's text is, of course, a suggested compromise. It attempts to balance the primary purpose of reinforcing compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) among the states-parties genuinely...

An Impractical Protocol.(draft protocol to Biological Weapons Convention)
May 1, 2001... The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) entered into force in 1975 without a formal compliance monitoring regime. The text of the convention is mercifully short, consisting of only 15 articles, and, procedural items aside, these articles fall...

Toth Issues Draft BWC Protocol, Reactions in Geneva Mixed.(Tibor Toth, draft protocol to Biological Weapons Convention)
May 1, 2001... THE NEGOTIATIONS TO produce a protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) took a major step forward March 30 with the release of the "chairman's text"--a draft protocol issued by Chairman Tibor Toth that contains proposed solutions to...

Bush Approves Major Arms Deal To Taiwan, Defers Aegis Sale.(Aegis combat system)
May 1, 2001... ON APRIL 24, President George W. Bush authorized the sale of a major package of arms to Taiwan, including destroyers, diesel-powered submarines, and antisubmarine aircraft, but he deferred Taipei's request for U.S. destroyers equipped with the...

Russian Duma Approves Open Skies Treaty.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Russian Duma approved the Open Skies Treaty on April 18 by a vote of 281-103, moving it closer to entry into force. The treaty still must be approved by the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, and by President...

White House Budget Seeks Threat Reduction Cuts.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Reports of impending cuts to U.S.-funded non-proliferation programs in the former Soviet Union were confirmed April 9, when the administration released its fiscal year 2002 budget proposal. The White House is advocating sharp cuts to Energy...

Moscow Provides Few Details on BMD Proposal.(pan-European ballistic missile defense plan)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Russia offered little additional detail on its proposed pan-European missile defense during an April 26 meeting of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels. All 19 NATO ambassadors and NATO Secretary-General...

CCW Members Prepare for Review Conference.(certain conventional weapons)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... States-parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) met April 2-6 in Geneva to prepare for the CCW's second review conference, scheduled to be held December 11-21. Delegations from the treaty's 84 states-parties reviewed...

Russia Begins 'Category 2' CW Destruction.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Russia recently took a step toward meeting its Chemical Weapons Convention commitments, beginning destruction of its "Category 2" chemical weapons, according to an Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) official. ...

CD Session Ends in Stalemate.(UN Conference on Disarmament)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Concluding the first third of its 2001 negotiating session, the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD) ended its March 27 plenary deadlocked, leaving its 66 members little prospect for progress when plenary meetings resume May 17. Strong U.S....

U.S. and Russian/Soviet Strategic Nuclear Forces.(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Since START I entered into force December 5, 1994, the treaty parties have substantially reduced their deployed strategic nuclear forces to comply with treaty limits that must be reached by December 2001. START I will limit the United States...