Arms Control Today articles from November 2002

Arms Control Today archives from November 2002

Disarmament through diplomacy. (Focus).(North Korea and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... A decade ago, North Korea challenged the nuclear nonproliferation regime by pursuing nuclear weapons technologies in violation of its treaty commitments, and it has recently admitted that it has resumed work to produce materials for nuclear...

The Cuban missile crises: revisited on the 40th anniversary.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... October marked the 40th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, in which the United States and the Soviet Union came chillingly dose to nuclear war over the placement of Soviet strategic weapons in Cuba. Continuing their exhaustive, oral...

Forty years after 13 days.
November 1, 2002... For many years, I considered the Cuban missile crisis to be the best-managed foreign policy crisis of the last half-century. I still believe that President Kennedy's actions during decisive moments of the crisis helped to prevent a nuclear war....

Excerpts from recently declassified documents.(George Washington University's National Security Archives)
November 1, 2002... Courtesy of George Washington University's National Security Archive * Italics are editor's comments. The Cuban missile crisis may well have started at the Bay of Pigs, in April 1961, since even after that "perfect failure" Washington...

Making inspections work in Iraq.
November 1, 2002... An ACA Press Conference On October 7, the Arms Control Association held a press conference to discuss the capability of United Nations inspections to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. Panelists spoke on the successes and...

North Korea admits secret nuclear weapons program. (News and Negotiations).
November 1, 2002... NORTH KOREA REVEALED that it has a clandestine nuclear weapons program during an early October meeting with a high-ranking U.S. official. The admission, which the United States made public October 16, indicates that Pyongyang has violated...

U.S., Security Council debate Iraq weapons inspections. (News and Negotiations).
November 1, 2002... AS WEAPONS INSPECTORS waited to enter Iraq, the United States submitted a resolution to the UN Security Council on October 25 that firmly calls for Iraq to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction but does not directly threaten the use of...

Central Asian states negotiate nuclear-weapon-free-zone. (News and Negotiations).(Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... AFTER FIVE YEARS of negotiation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan reached agreement September 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on a nuclear-weapon-free-zone (NWFZ) treaty. United Nations Undersecretary-General for...

GAO says multilateral export control regimes too weak. (News and Negotiations).(General Accounting Office; the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... CONCLUDING A 13-MONTH study of four international regimes designed to stem global weapons proliferation, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported October 25 that the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Nuclear...

Ground-based midcourse defense hits again. (News and Negotiations).(Pentagon's ground-launch missile defense inceptors)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... THE PENTAGON DESTROYED a mock strategic warhead in space October 14 with a ground-launched missile defense interceptor for the fourth consecutive time. Nearly identical to prior intercept trials, the latest test's only new wrinkle was the...

Deadlines extended for Russian chemical demilitarization. (News and Negotiations).(Chemical Weapons Convention)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... STATES-PARTIES TO the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) decided at an October 7-11 meeting to extend "in principle" two interim deadlines for Russia to destroy part of its chemical weapons stockpile, but they postponed a decision on Russia's...

Serb arms companies in illegal deals with Iraq. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC of Yugoslavia (FRY) fired two public officials and launched a government investigation October 22 in response to evidence that Serbian companies have been illegally upgrading Iraqi combat aircraft. The United States, which...

U.S. funds released for Shchuch'ye. (News and Negotiations).(Russian chemical demilitarization)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... A U.S.-SPONSORED chemical demilitarization program in Russia received a boost October 23 after President George W. Bush signed the fiscal year 2003 defense appropriations bill, which released funds that had been withheld from fiscal years...

U.S. releases information on Cold War chem-bio tests. (News and Neotiations).(Defense Department chemical and biological tests form 1962-1973)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT released new information October 9 regarding 27 chemical and biological weapons tests conducted between 1962 and 1973, revealing for the first time that it had used live chemical and biological agents in some land-based...

Tritium production licenses granted to civilian power plants. (News and Negotiations).(US Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Tennessee nuclear power plants)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... BREAKING THE TABOO of using civilian nuclear reactors to supply nuclear weapons materials, the US. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved licenses September 24 and October 1 to allow tritium production at two Tennessee nuclear power...

U.S. begins trimming nuclear forces. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... THE UNITED STATES has begun dismantling its Peacekeeper ICBM force and converting two Trident nuclear submarines to carry conventional weapons in the first move toward reducing its deployed strategic warheads to the 1,700-2,200 limit...

U.S. reportedly offers Russia deal on Bushehr. (News and Negotiations).(Iranian nuclear power plant development)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... THE UNITED STATES has reportedly offered Russia access to spent nuclear fuel if it ends its role in constructing a nuclear reactor near the Iranian city of Bushehr. The State Department would not directly confirm that the lucrative offer had...

China issues chem-bio export control laws. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... China issued a new biological export control law October 14 and a new chemical export control law October 18 in an effort to curb proliferation of agents and related equipment that could be used to develop chemical and biological weapons. The...

MTCR closes some loopholes. (News Briefs).(Missile Technology Control Regime; cruise missile proliferation)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Members of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) took a step to strengthen their ability to curb cruise missile proliferation during a September 24-27 plenary meeting in Warsaw. The MTCR is an informal export control arrangement...

India, Pakistan conduct missile tests. (News Briefs).(Pakistani Hatf-4 surface-to-air missiles; Indian Akash surface-to-air missiles)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... On October 4, Pakistan tested its Hatf-4 (Shaheen-1) surface-to-surface missile, which can carry a 500-kilogram payload 750 kilometers, followed by a second Haft-4 test October 8. The last time Pakistan tested a ballistic missile was in May...

Russia uses opiate-based gas on militants. (News Briefs).(Chechen terrorists; Moscow theater hostage situation; Chemical Weapons Convention; fentanyl)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Russian law enforcement authorities stormed a Moscow theater October 26 after pumping gas into the building, where Chechen militants were holding more than 700 people hostage. Many hostages were rescued, but 115-117 hostages died from the...

G-8 Partnership needs more funding. (News Briefs).
November 1, 2002... U.S. partners have formally pledged about half of the money they promised earlier this year to fund nonproliferation and disarmament projects in Russia, Undersecretary of State John Bolton testified to Congress October 9. Bolton added that...

No movement on Strategic Reductions Treaty. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Despite support from the White House, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and key Republican senators, the Senate did not act on a resolution of ratification for the U.S. Russian Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty before...

Chronology of U.S.--North Korean nuclear and missile diplomacy. (Factfile).
November 1, 2002... December 1985-October 2002 For years, the United States and the international community have tried to negotiate an end to North Korea's nuclear and missile development and its export of ballistic missile technology. Those efforts were...