Arms Control Today articles from November 2005

Arms Control Today archives from November 2005

Editor's note.
November 1, 2005... All too often, political and public attention focus on who is winning or losing arms control and national security debates, rather than the mundane but crucial task of following through whatever decision is ultimately reached. Take missile...

Of madmen and nukes.(nuclear weapons usage plans)(nuclear weapon restraint)
November 1, 2005... Chinese Major General Zhu Chenghu told journalists last July that China is prepared to use nuclear weapons against the United States if it targets Chinese ships, aircraft, or territory in a confrontation over Taiwan. "We Chinese will prepare...

Notable quotable.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... "At a time when disarmament efforts appear deadlocked, when there is a danger that nuclear arms will spread both to states and to terrorist groups, and when nuclear power again appears to be playing an increasingly significant role, IAEA's...

The Tarapur sale.(Twenty Five Years Ago in ACT)
November 1, 2005... The president's [Jimmy Carter] argument that continued nuclear cooperation with India will 'help us to maintain a dialogue with India in which we try to narrow our differences' surfaced during the Senate debate [on sending nuclear fuel to the...

By the numbers.(United States' arms exports)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Major U.S. Arms Exports From 1992-2004 61 Warships 435 Attack Helicopters 1,366 Combat Aircraft 1,776 Large-Caliber Artillery Systems 5,335 Tanks 7,849 Armored Combat Vehicles 20,966...

Iran's Strategic Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment.(Reports of Note)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2005... Iran's Strategic Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment Edited by Gary Samore. The International Institute for Strategic Studies, Routledge, September 2005 The International Institute for Strategic Studies' Iran assessment offers a...

Global Stocks of Nuclear Explosive Materials.(Reports of Note)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2005... Global Stocks of Nuclear Explosive Materials David Albright and Kimberly Kramer. Institute for Science and International Security, September 2005 There is enough fissile material in global stockpiles for more than 300,000 nuclear...

IAEA additional protocols.(International Atomic Energy Agency )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors Sept. 20 approved an additional protocol to Botswana's safeguards agreement with the agency, opening the way for signature and its eventual entry into force. On Sept. 22, the board also...

Chemical Weapons Convention.(Treaty Update)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Vanuatu deposited its articles of accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Sept. 16 and the Democratic Republic of Congo followed suit on Oct. 12, bringing the total number of states-parties to 175. Eleven states have signed but not...

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.(United Nations conference)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Foreign ministers and representatives from more than 130 states met Sept. 21-23 at the United Nations to urge support for the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear test explosions. The declaration of the...

What's ahead: on the calendar.
November 1, 2005... Nov. 7-11 Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) annual meeting, The Hague. Nov. 14-18 Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization meeting, Vienna. Nov. 24-25...

Defending missile defense: an interview with Missile Defense Agency director Lt. Gen. Henry Obering.(Interview)
November 1, 2005... President George W. Bush has made fielding missile defenses a priority. In pursuit of this objective, he withdrew the United States from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, has requested nearly $38 billion in missile defense funding since...

Witness for the prosecution: international organizations and arms control verification.
November 1, 2005... The late Charles Floweree, who worked on arms control issues for many years at the Department of State, once observed that "compliance is like a poorly crafted Act 3 that plays to a distracted and drowsy audience." If we continue his...

China's export controls: can Beijing's actions match its words?
November 1, 2005... At their September plenary in Madrid, members of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) decided not to take up the question of inviting China to join the group. China had applied to join the voluntary export control regime in July 2004,...

ElBaradei, IAEA win Nobel Peace Prize.(Mohamed ElBaradei, International Atomic Energy Agency)
November 1, 2005... The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its sometimes controversial director-general, Mohamed ElBaradei, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Oct. 7. The agency is charged with promoting the uses of nuclear technologies for peaceful...

Schelling awarded Nobel economics prize.(THE WORLD)
November 1, 2005... Thomas Schelling, one of the leading intellectual pioneers in arms control, co-won the Nobel economics prize for his work in applying game theory to the social sciences. Schelling's 1960 book, The Strategy of Conflict, was one of the...

OPCW director seeks Middle East inroads.(Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Rogelio Pfirter )(Interview)
November 1, 2005... Efforts to win universal support for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) have foundered because of resistance from key countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. But the head of the international organization charged with implementing the...

IAEA Board closes safeguards loophole.(International Atomic Energy Agency)
November 1, 2005... The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors Sept. 20 approved changes to strengthen the agency's Small Quantities Protocol, an agreement the IAEA viewed as a weak point in its overall ability to detect clandestine nuclear...

IAEA reports increase in nuclear trafficking.(International Atomic Energy Agency)
November 1, 2005... According to a Sept. 27 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, incidents of nuclear and radioactive trafficking rose significantly in 2004. Trafficking of nuclear materials has increased for the first time since 2000, and trafficking...

Hard cases stymie test ban treaty.(THE WORLD)
November 1, 2005... Nearly a decade ago, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was opened for signature. Since then, all but 17 UN members have signed the accord, and major progress has been made in building a complex technological system to verify its...

Global arms exports climbed in 2004.(THE WORLD)
November 1, 2005... With the United States and Russia leading the way, arms suppliers shipped roughly 1,200 more major conventional weapons around the globe in 2004 than in 2003, according to reports they volunteered this year to the United Nations. Since...

U.S. proposes nuclear fuel safety net.(establishing a nuclear fuel reserve for other countries)
November 1, 2005... The United States recently announced it will establish a nuclear fuel reserve for countries that forgo the ability to make their own nuclear fuel. This reserve would serve as a backup source of nuclear fuel for such countries if their regular...

Lawmakers want to retain ICBM force.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)(intercontinental ballistic missiles)
November 1, 2005... Western lawmakers are seeking to prevent changes or cuts to the U.S. force of deployed nuclear-armed ICBMs. Currently, 500 Minuteman III missiles are dispersed across Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Spurring the legislators' campaign is...

Brazilian regulator denies uranium claims.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
November 1, 2005... Odair Goncalves, president of Brazil's Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), told Arms Control Today Sept. 28 that reports that a foreign source had once supplied Brazil with uranium enriched to the point that it could fuel a nuclear bomb were...

IAEA unlikely to refer Iran to Security Council.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)(International Atomic Energy Agency)
November 1, 2005... On Nov. 24, following an anticipated report from Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors is set to evaluate Iran's cooperation with a Sept. 24 resolution that found Tehran in...

Challenges face North Korea talks.(denuclearization )
November 1, 2005... Participants in the six-party talks designed to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis are attempting to devise a strategy for implementing a Sept. 19 joint statement of principles for achieving "the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean...

Suppliers weigh Indian nuclear cooperation.(nuclear exports planning)
November 1, 2005... At an October meeting, the world's leading nuclear suppliers offered mixed reactions to a U.S. initiative to expand civil nuclear cooperation with India. The group is awaiting a formal U.S. proposal as well as Indian steps toward granting...

India, Pakistan sign missile notification pact.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)
November 1, 2005... India and Pakistan Oct. 3 finalized an agreement to notify each other in advance of ballistic missile flight tests. This long-awaited move aims to reduce tension between the two nuclear neighbors. Indian External Affairs Minister K. Natwar...

Hungarian missiles set for destruction.(destroying excess surface-to-air missiles)
November 1, 2005... The United States recently agreed to help Hungary scrap more than 1,500 excess shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. A top Department of State official has told lawmakers that he will be urging similar operations elsewhere. On Sept. 27,...

EU slaps arms embargo on Uzbekistan.(European Union)(restrictions on sale or transfer of military equipment)
November 1, 2005... On Oct. 3, the European Union voted to impose arms sanctions and other restrictions on Uzbekistan. The sanctions include a ban on the sale or transfer to Uzbekistan of arms, military equipment, or any other equipment that might be used for...

IRA disarms after 36 years.(Irish Republican Army, decommissioning)
November 1, 2005... The provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) has disarmed after a 36-year armed campaign for a unified Irish state, according to a Sept. 26 report by independent international observers. Canadian General John de Chastelain, head...

Czech uranium removed.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Department of Energy's Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) program repatriated 14 kilograms of Soviet-supplied highly enriched uranium (HEU) from a Prague research reactor to a "secure" facility in Russia without incident on Sept. 27....

Looking back: multilateral arms transfer restraint: the limits of cooperation.
November 1, 2005... As the United States and Europe wrestle over European plans to sell conventional arms to China, many Americans would like to see a new transatlantic treaty regime. They disparage the existing regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement, which coordinates...