Arms Control Today articles from October 2006

Arms Control Today archives from October 2006

Editor's note.
October 1, 2006... The fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks is a reminder of the dangers of a terrorist using chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons and the need to take all steps to prevent such an attack. But what if, despite our best efforts, such...

Balancing nuclear "rights" and responsibilities.
October 1, 2006... Since the beginning of the nuclear age, efforts to exploit nuclear technology for energy and for profit have complicated the task of reducing the nuclear weapons threat. Now, as states such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Iran, and South...

Notable quotable.(InBRIEF)
October 1, 2006... "The United Nations has passed a clear resolution requiring that... Tehran meet its international obligations. Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions. Despite what the regime tells you, we have no objection to Iran's pursuit of a...

Limits on nuclear testing: another view.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... No other measure of nuclear arms control has been so persistently demanded for so long by the non-nuclear states--both aligned and non-aligned--as a [comprehensive test ban]. A total nuclear test ban is regarded by practically all non-nuclear...

By the numbers.(arms export)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Selected Arms Export Totals to Countries in the Middle East from 1992 through 2005* 0 Russian Exports to Syria 304 Russian Exports to Iran 416 U.S. Exports to Jordan 2,708 U.S. Exports to Saudi Arabia ...

Chemical Weapons Convention.(Comoros, Central African Republic )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Comoros and the Central African Republic are the two latest states to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), agreeing not to develop, produce, stockpile, or use chemical weapons. Comoros became the 179th state-party Aug. 18, and the...

Conference on Disarmament.
October 1, 2006... On Sept. 15, the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament ended its annual three-part session in Geneva. Conference participants for the eighth consecutive year failed to begin any negotiations. How-ever, the conference, which operates by consensus,...

International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Austria and Russia ratified a UN convention aimed at strengthening international efforts to combat terrorism. The International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism would criminalize the possession of nuclear materials...

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... At the United Nations in New York Sept. 20, a group of 59 Foreign Ministers, led by those from Australia, Canada, Finland, Japan, and the Netherlands, marked the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty with a joint statement...

National Security Council.(John Rood appointed as assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Senate has confirmed President George W. Bush's nomination of John Rood as assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation. Rood was special assistant to the president and a senior adviser on...

National Nuclear Security Administration.(Comings and Goings)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Senate also confirmed Bush's nomination of William Tobey as deputy administrator for defense nuclear non-proliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). In his new position, Tobey will be responsible for managing...

India.(Shyam Saran named special envoy for negotiations with the United States)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... India has named Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran as special envoy for negotiations with the United States to craft a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. The Indian envoy to Pakistan, Shiv Shankar Menon, has succeeded Saran as the next foreign...

On the calendar.(What's Ahead)(defense industries' conferences)(Calendar)
October 1, 2006... Oct. 2-6 Missile Technology Control Regime: plenary meeting, Copenhagen. Oct. 2-6 Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization: 30th session of Working Group A and...

Who did it? Using international forensics to detect and deter nuclear terrorism.
October 1, 2006... On February 2, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon has formed a nuclear forensics team tasked with identifying the attackers should the United States be hit with a nuclear bomb. (1) Adapting nuclear technology to the forensics of...

Biotechnology and the challenge to arms control.
October 1, 2006... Advances in biotechnology pose grave challenges to arms control for the coming decades. The increasing capabilities of the biological sciences and the global spread of the underlying technologies raise the prospect of misuse of these...

The limits of modest progress: the rise, fall, and return of efforts to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention.
October 1, 2006... Next month, Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) member states will gather for a review conference five years after a previous meeting dissolved amid acrimony. So far, the signs are that countries participating in November's BWC review meeting...

Iran, EU struggle to start nuclear talks.
October 1, 2006... As September drew to a close, European and Iranian negotiators were attempting to reach an agreement regarding ground rules for negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The permanent five members of the UN Security Council, along with Germany...

IAEA limits leave Iran intel gaps.(International Atomic Energy Agency )
October 1, 2006... As negotiators seek to start talks to ease concerns about Iran's nuclear program, Tehran's February decision to limit the access of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors is contributing to additional doubts about its nuclear...

Israel looks to bolster arms capabilities.
October 1, 2006... After absorbing thousands of rocket and missile attacks this summer, Israel is keener than ever to expand its missile defenses. As international tensions with Iran mount, Israel also is moving to boost its offensive military capabilities with...

Anti-missile system scores test hit.
October 1, 2006... The Pentagon's strategic ballistic missile defense intercepted a test target Sept. 1 for the first time since President George W. Bush ordered the rudimentary system deployed nearly four years ago. The success comes on the cusp of a U.S....

Senate intel panel releases two Iraq reports.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
October 1, 2006... The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released two reports Sept. 8 as part of the second phase of its inquiry into pre-war U.S. intelligence concerning Iraq's suspected chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs. One report...

Pentagon shifts arms control posts.
October 1, 2006... The Department of Defense's top policy chief Aug. 28 announced an extensive reorganization that will affect several senior Pentagon arms control and nonproliferation positions. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman, who...

Global arms exports continued upswing in 2005.
October 1, 2006... Government reports volunteered to the United Nations reveal that 2005 marked the highest volume of major conventional weapons exports in more than a dozen years. Yet, the figures, like those in previous years, do not take into account some arms...

Vienna meeting airs new nuclear fuel proposals.
October 1, 2006... Concerns that global tensions over Iran's uranium-enrichment program may be the first in a series of future crises are spurring governments and private organizations from nuclear supplier countries to step forward with new efforts to limit the...

Cluster munitions under new scrutiny.(Hezbollah-Israeli War)
October 1, 2006... Israeli military forces and Hezbollah militants ceased fighting in southern Lebanon Aug. 14, but unexploded Israeli ordnance there is still wounding and killing people. The casualties have raised questions about Israel's use of cluster...

IAEA says illicit nuclear material trade down.(International Atomic Energy Agency )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Illicit trafficking of nuclear materials decreased slightly last year from 2004 levels, according to an Aug. 21 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report. A broader category of activity involving unlawful or unauthorized nuclear,...

Central Asian states renounce nuclear weapons.
October 1, 2006... Five former Soviet Central Asian states agreed Sept. 8 to forswear nuclear weapons within their territories permanently. However, breaking from typical practice, the treaty lacks the endorsement of three of the five official nuclear-weapon...

U.S.-Russian nuclear program expires.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)
October 1, 2006... Last-minute informal U.S.-Russian talks aimed at preserving an eight-year-old program appear to have come up short. The Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), designed to keep Russian nuclear weapons specialists from selling their secrets to rogue...

U.S., Russia sign plutonium accord.
October 1, 2006... The United States and Russia finalized an agreement Sept. 15 resolving a long-standing dispute on a bilateral program to dispose of excess nuclear weapons material. Yet, even though the signing marked the highlight of a recent Washington visit...

Correction.(Correction notice)
October 1, 2006... On page 41 of Arms Control Today's September 2006 issue, Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) should have been identified as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee.

Japan, Australia sanction North Korea.
October 1, 2006... In a coordinated action, Japan and Australia announced Sept. 19 that they had adopted sanctions targeting multiple foreign entities tied to North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs. The...

Senate vote on U.S.-Indian deal delayed.
October 1, 2006... Despite the high priority attached by the Bush administration and New Delhi to a proposed U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear trade agreement, the Senate did not act on legislation advancing the deal before going into recess. But Senate leaders...

Book review: fingers on the nuclear trigger.(At the Borderline of Armageddon: How American Presidents Managed the Atom Bomb)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... At the Borderline of Armageddon: How American Presidents Managed the Atom Bomb By James E. Goodby Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, June 2006, 224 pp. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At last, a well-written, objective account of the...

Iran's Nuclear Ambitions.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... Iran's Nuclear Ambitions By Shahram Chubin, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 2006, 244 pp. Security expert Chubin argues in this sociopolitical study that the roots of Iran's drive for nuclear capabilities and...

Critical Masses and Critical Choices: Evolving Public Opinion on Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and Security.(Books OF NOTE)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... Critical Masses and Critical Choices: Evolving Public Opinion on Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and Security By Kerry G. Herron and Hank C. Jenkins-Smith, University of Pittsburgh Press, August 2006, 264 pp. Texas A & M University...

Shopping for Bombs: Nuclear Proliferation, Global Insecurity, and the Rise and Fall of the A.Q. Khan Network.(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... Shopping for Bombs: Nuclear Proliferation, Global Insecurity, and the Rise and Fall of the A.Q. Khan Network By Gordon Corera, Oxford University, September 2006, 304 pp. BBC correspondent Corera offers a detailed account of the rise and...

A fresh START+.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... Anatoli Diakov and Eugene Miasnikov ("ReSTART? The Need for a New U.S.-Russian Strategic Arms Agreement," Arms Control Today, September 2006) provide an interesting discussion of Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to replace START I...