Arms Control Today articles from October 2007

Arms Control Today archives from October 2007

Editor's note.
October 1, 2007... Few issues in post-Cold War U.S.-Russian relations have generated as much tension between Washington and Moscow as U.S. plans to deploy a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The Kremlin has reacted sharply to the proposal,...

Of missiles and missile defenses.(FOCUS)
October 1, 2007... Two decades ago, President Ronald Reagan proposed a simple yet bold idea to reduce the risks of nuclear-armed ballistic missile attacks and "mutual assured destruction." At the October 1986 Reykjavik summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev,...

Notable quotable.(InBRIEF)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... "[B]y allowing India to be the first and only country in the world to be a de facto and de jure nuclear power, with supply of uranium and equipment, grant of reprocessing rights in principle, on terms more favourable than any other 123...

The future of U.S. nuclear weapons policy.(Ten Years Ago in ACT)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The greatest threat to our security today is not the threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of other nation states, necessarily, but the threat posed by the proliferation of these weapons into the hands of states that may not show the same...

By the numbers.(InBRIEF)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty* 160,175 Soviet Union's arms excluding attack helicopters in 1988 113,067 Declared Warsaw Pact arms, including those of the Soviet Union, in 1990 76,574 Declared NATO...

Conventions on Nuclear Terrorism and material protection.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... In the past three months, President George W. Bush has submitted two nuclear-related treaties to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. Bush transmitted the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear...

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... A conference of states-parties to the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) met Sept. 17-18 in Vienna for their fifth such gathering aimed at finding ways to facilitate the treaty's entry into force. Ten additional states listed in Annex 2...

Chemical Weapons Convention.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) certified July 11 that Albania was the "first country to destroy all of its chemical weapons" pursuant to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The Balkan state initially failed...

Saudi Arabia signed a contract to purchase 72 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)
October 1, 2007... Saudi Arabia signed a contract to purchase 72 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft from the United Kingdom in a deal worth $8.9 billion.

Turkey reached a $1.7 billion agreement to purchase 51 A129 attack helicopters from AgustaWestland.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)
October 1, 2007... Turkey reached a $1.7 billion agreement to purchase 51 A129 attack helicopters from AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italian defense firm Finmeccanica.

In its first voluntary submission to the UN Register of Conventional Arms in a decade, China reported.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... In its first voluntary submission to the UN Register of Conventional Arms in a decade, China reported that in 2006 it exported a total of 10 battle tanks, 12 armored combat vehicles, 221 large-caliber artillery systems, 28 combat aircraft, two...

The U.S. Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement continues projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo and completed projects in Senegal.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The U.S. Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement continues projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo and completed projects in Senegal, that have resulted in the destruction of 11,471 and 4,000 small arms and light weapons, respectively.

In a late submission to the UN Register of Conventional Arms, France reported.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... In a late submission to the UN Register of Conventional Arms, France reported that in 2006 it exported 28 armored combat vehicles, four large-caliber artillery systems, 12 combat aircraft, 12 attack helicopters, and 239 missiles and missile...

On the calendar.(What's Ahead)(Brief article)(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... Oct. 2 15th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear testing moratorium. Oct. 8-Nov. 2 UN General Assembly First Committee meets, New York. Oct. 12 U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense meet with Russian counterparts...

European missile defense: the view from the Pentagon.
October 1, 2007... When North Korea launched short- and long-range missiles last summer, we had for the first time the means to defend all 50 states and our allies in Japan and South Korea against a possible ballistic missile attack. For the first time, leaders...

European missile defense: a congressional perspective.
October 1, 2007... In January 2007, the Bush administration announced that it was beginning negotiations with Poland and the Czech Republic about the possibility of placing missile defense interceptors and a radar, respectively, on their territories. The...

European missile defense: the technological basis of Russian concerns.
October 1, 2007... The Bush administration is proposing to deploy a missile defense that it claims would protect most of Europe and the continental United States against potential long-range ballistic missile attacks from Iran. The proposed system would have its...

European missile defense: assessing Iran's ICBM capabilities.(intercontinental ballistic missile)
October 1, 2007... In 1999 and 2001, the National Intelligence Council stated that Iran could develop an ICBM capable of reaching the United States by 2015. In recent years, U.S. government agencies have affirmed those estimates, arguing that "Iran could have...

European missile defense: strategic imperative or politics as usual?
October 1, 2007... Russia has been vigorously objecting to a U.S. plan to deploy a midcourse tracking radar in the Czech Republic along with 10 anti-ballistic missile interceptors in Poland. The United States maintains that this missile defense deployment is an...

UN Iran sanctions push thwarted for now.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)
October 1, 2007... Senior diplomats from the United States, the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council, and Germany met Sept. 21 to discuss elements of an additional Security Council sanctions resolution on Iran. Divisions among these states...

Details bedevil Libyan grand bargain.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)
October 1, 2007... Almost four years after Libya first announced it would surrender its chemical and nuclear weapons programs in exchange for normalization of relations with the West, some weapons and materials officially renounced by Libya remain in the country,...

NK-Syria nuclear connection questionable.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)(North Korea)
October 1, 2007... Since news reports surfaced regarding the Sept. 6 incursions of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) into Syrian airspace, numerous theories have emerged regarding the intent and results of the reported raid. The most serious and most questionable...

Yongbyon facilities disablement considered.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)
October 1, 2007... In a preliminary step toward hampering North Korea's ability to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, a team of U.S., Chinese, and Russian experts visited Pyongyang's nuclear facilities at Yongbyon in September to determine potential ways they...

U.S., Australia reach defense trade pact.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)
October 1, 2007... President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard signed a defense trade cooperation treaty (DTCT) Sept. 5. Although the text of the treaty is still being negotiated, it shares the same name as the treaty Bush signed in July...

Report: no progress on missile defense, nukes.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)
October 1, 2007... Russian and U.S. officials in September meetings failed to resolve disputes over measures to succeed an expiring nuclear arms reduction treaty or U.S. plans to base anti-missile systems in Europe. The two sides vowed to continue meeting. ...

Russia offers to jump-start IAEA fuel bank.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)(International Atomic Energy Agency )
October 1, 2007... A senior Russian official made an offer Sept. 18 that could help establish an international fuel bank under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia's nuclear agency, also announced...

Negotiations elude disarmament body again.(THE WORLD)
October 1, 2007... Despite its claim to be the "single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community," the 65-member Conference on Disarmament (CD) recently concluded its ninth consecutive year without any treaty negotiations. A...

Experts seek measures to control bioweapons.(THE WORLD)
October 1, 2007... The first of a series of meetings in preparation for the 2011 review conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) produced no concrete results but was hailed by participants for its positive atmosphere. Experts and diplomats from 90...

Reported incidents of trafficking up in 2006.(THE WORLD)
October 1, 2007... In 2006, 150 incidents of unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radiological materials were reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Of these incidents, 14 involved unauthorized possession and related criminal...

U.S. nuke dismantlement: modest uptick.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
October 1, 2007... The United States this June slightly lifted the shroud of secrecy covering its nuclear warhead dismantlement activities, claiming at least a 50 percent increase over its 2006 rate. Although the announcement elicited general praise, the amount...

U.S. pledges cuts in plutonium stockpile.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
October 1, 2007... Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announced Sept. 17 that the United States would remove an amount of plutonium from its nuclear weapons stockpile sufficient to make at least 1,000 nuclear weapons, likely surpassing a 2000 U.S.-Russian...

Congress, Pentagon probe nuke overflight.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
October 1, 2007... The transfer of six nuclear warheads aboard a strategic U.S. bomber Aug. 30 has prompted a Pentagon internal investigation and congressional legislation requiring a review of U.S. nuclear custody policies. Citing Department of Defense...

Book review: diplomacy delayed is not diplomacy denied.(Critical essay)
October 1, 2007... Failed Diplomacy: The Tragic Story of How North Korea Got the Bomb By Charles L. Pritchard, Brookings Institution Press, May 2007, 228 pp. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A funny thing happened to Charles L. "Jack" Pritchard on the way to...

The Bush administration and North Korea's nuclear program.(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... U.S. nuclear diplomacy with North Korea has seen many twists and turns during the adminsitration of President George W. Bush from diplomatic confrontations to nuclear tests and now progress in disarmament negotiations. 2001 June ...

Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible.(Books OF NOTE)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible By Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun, John Wiley & Sons, 2007, 308 pp. Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times correspondent Stephen Braun and former Washington...

Bioviolence: Preventing Biological Terror and Crime.(Books OF NOTE)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... Bioviolence: Preventing Biological Terror and Crime By Barry Kellman, Cambridge University Press, 2007, 392 pp. In addressing the threat of a bioweapons attack in the future, Barry Kellman, professor of international law and director of...

The Creation of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: A Case Study in the Birth of an Intergovernmental Organization.(Books OF NOTE)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... The Creation of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: A Case Study in the Birth of an Intergovernmental Organization By Eds. Ian R. Kenyon and Daniel Feakes, T.M.C. Asser Press, July 2007, 342 pp. Written and edited...

Terrorists, trafficking, and WMD still the greatest danger.(Letters TO THE EDITOR)(weapons of mass destruction)
October 1, 2007... Debate about the intersection of terrorism and illicit nuclear materials is often bleak and holds a disconcerting outlook for international security. However, Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley's article in the July/August Arms Control Today ("An...

The real source of Israel's first fissile material.(Letters TO THE EDITOR)(Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation )
October 1, 2007... In the June 2007 edition of Arms Control Today, Avner Cohen ("Crossing the Threshold: The Untold Nuclear Dimension of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and Its Contemporary Lessons") wrote that, before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, "Israeli teams...

Correction.(Correction notice)
October 1, 2007... On page 45 of Arms Control Today's September 2007 issue, an incorrect date was reported for China's last voluntary submission to the UN Register of Conventional Arms. The correct year was 1997.