Arms Control Today articles from October 2008

Arms Control Today archives from October 2008

Editor's note.
October 1, 2008... Legal definitions, negotiating processes, and gradual technological improvements rarely make headlines. Yet, these are the nuts and bolts that can make arms control agreements and their associated regimes succeed or fail. Take the...

Unfinished business for the NSG.(FOCUS)(Nuclear Suppliers Group)
October 1, 2008... In an unprecedented move that will undermine the value of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the already beleaguered nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), the NSG reluctantly agreed Sept. 6 to exempt NPT holdout India from its guidelines...

Notable quotable.(Quotation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... "We need a global, effective, Arms Trade Treaty. It is bizarre that while treaties and conventions have existed for several decades to control the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, there is no equivalent global arrangement to...

Arms control in 1998: Congress maintains the status quo.(Ten Years Ago in ACT)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Drawing Russia into closer economic, political and military relationships with the West could help reduce the likelihood of military confrontation in Europe--confrontation that could lead to the use of weapons of mass destruction. The United...

By the numbers.(Table)
October 1, 2008... BY THE NUMBERS 2007 International Arms Exports by Weapons Categories * 16 Warships 81 Attack Helicopters 219 Combat Aircraft 630 Large-Caliber Artillery 954 Battle Tanks 2,254...

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... On Sept. 25 Burundi became the 145th state to ratify and on Sept. 26 Timor-Leste became the 180th state to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In a joint statement Sept. 24, foreign ministers of more than 80 countries called on all states...

NNSA eliminates 100 metric tons of HEU.(Treaty Update)(National Nuclear Security Administration, highly enriched uranium)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... On Aug. 25, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semiautoncmous Department of Energy entity, announced that a total of 100 metric tons of surplus highly enriched uranium (HEU) had been eliminated from the U.S. military...

Open Skies Treaty.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The 500th flight carried out under the Open Skies Treaty occurred Aug. 26 when a plane with observers from Canada, the Czech Republic, and Norway flew over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The treaty, which was signed in 1992 and entered into force in...

Russian weapons destruction.(Treaty Update)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... On July 2, the lower house of Russia's parliament overwhelmingly approved the extension of a bilateral agreement under which Washington provides Moscow with funds to support the safe transportation, storage, and disposal of weapons of mass...

According to RIA Novosti Russia.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... According to RIA Novosti Russia has extended a $1 billion loan to Venezuela to support the purchase of Russian arms, speculated to be comprised primarily of an air defense system. According to the news agency, between 2005 and 2007 Russia also...

Arms trade treaty.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... A group of governmental experts studying the feasibility, scope and possible parameters of a global arms trade treaty issued a report calling for further work on the topic. Next steps should be determined in upcoming First Committee and UN...

The United States Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The United States Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement announced the launch of a $1.4 million program to destroy conventional weapons and clear landmines and other explosive remnants of war in northern Somalia.

The European Commission the UN Development Program.(Conventional Arming and Disarming)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... The European Commission and the UN Development Program (UNDP) agreed to spend more than 3 million Euros ($4.4 million) to support the destruction of weapons in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to a press release from the UNDP, illicit...

On the calendar.(What's Ahead)(Calendar)
October 1, 2008... On the Calendar Oct. 2 16th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear testing moratorium. Oct. 6-Nov. 4 UN General Assembly First Committee meets, New York. Nov. 13-14 Convention on Certain...

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: effectively verifiable.
October 1, 2008... In October 1999, the U.S. Senate declined to consent to ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Although the floor debate itself was so short as to be perfunctory, verification concerns played a role in the Senate's...

Avoiding a perfect storm: recharting the NPT review process.(Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty)
October 1, 2008... Forty years after the signing of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), cracks are growing in the cornerstone of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. This grand bargain among nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon states has in recent years...

Tackling the illicit small arms trade: the chairman speaks.(Ambassador Dalius Cekuolis)
October 1, 2008... When I was nominated in December 2007 as the chair-designate of the third biennial meeting of states (BMS3), (1) my team and I immediately focused on the task of ensuring a successful outcome. This, of course, is the duty of any meeting chair;...

NSG, Congress approve nuclear trade with India.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)(Nuclear Suppliers Group)
October 1, 2008... The Bush administration succeeded Sept. 6 in its three-year campaign to secure a waiver for India from longstanding international nuclear trade restrictions. Three days of U.S. prodding and an Indian reiteration of its current nuclear testing...

North Korea moves to restart key nuclear plant.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)
October 1, 2008... North Korea has begun taking steps to restart operations at its reprocessing facility at Yongbyon as negotiations over verifying its nuclear activities have bogged down. Pyongyang announced Aug. 26 that it would consider taking steps to restore...

Nuclear disarmament panel members named.(ASIA AND AUSTRALIA)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... On Sept. 26, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the members of a new joint panel with Japan on nuclear disarmament. The International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament will be co-chaired by former Australian...

ElBaradei says Iran Stalls IAEA inquiry.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)(International Atomic Energy Agency's Mohamed El Baradei)
October 1, 2008... Iran has failed to cooperate with an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) probe into suspected nuclear weapons-related studies, according to a Sept. 15 report by agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei. He said in the report that unless...

Libya adds new pieces to its nuclear history.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)
October 1, 2008... The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report Sept. 12 indicating that Libya did not provide a full picture of its past nuclear fuel cycle procurement efforts following its renunciation of nonconventional weapons in December...

Israel: Hezbollah violating arms embargo.(THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)
October 1, 2008... In the wake of Israeli claims that the militant group Hezbollah is smuggling weapons into southern Lebanon in an attempt to illegally rearm, the UN Security Council Aug. 27 unanimously extended the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon...

U.S.-Russian strategic dialogue in limbo.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)
October 1, 2008... Several weeks after the Russian-Georgian military conflict and several weeks before, the United Males duels a new president, formal U.S.-Russian talks on nuclear weapons and anti-missile systems are languishing. Neither Moscow nor Washington...

Hill pushes Russian weapons uranium elimination.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)(Capitol Hill)
October 1, 2008... Congress approved legislation Sept. 27 intended to pressure Russia to continue and expand a program that down-blends Russian weapons-grade highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel for U.S. nuclear power plants....

Threat reduction programs continue despite rifts.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)
October 1, 2008... Russia's conflict with Georgia in August caused a serious rift in U.S.-Russian relations but does not appear to have harmed the two countries' cooperation on improving the security of nuclear materials and weapons in Russia, according to...

A Alfa Fellowship Program.(EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Alfa-Bank and CDS International are pleased to announce a call for applications for the Alfa Fellowship Program's 2009-10 Fellows. Now entering its seventh round, the Alfa Fellowship Program is a professional-level exchange designed to foster a...

E1Baradei to leave IAEA in 2009.(THE WORLD)(Mohamed ElBaradei)
October 1, 2008... International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei recently announced that he would not seek a fourth term of office after his current term ends in November 2009. El Baradei's 11-year tenure has been marked by Libya...

Potential successors to EIBaradei.(International Atomic Energy Agency's Mohamed El Baradei)
October 1, 2008... A successor to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed EIBaradei will be appointed by the 35 states on the agency's Board of Governors next year with the approval of the General Conference, which includes all IAEA...

CCW considers limits on cluster munitions.(THE WORLD)(Certain Conventional Weapons)
October 1, 2008... In September, delegates to a Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) meeting considered possible limitations on the use of cluster munitions, while supporters of a separate process criticized the effort as too little, too late. The...

Global arms exports soar in 2007.(THE WORLD)(Report)
October 1, 2008... After dipping in 2006, global conventional arms exports last year rose because of increased weapons transfers by Russia, the United States, and other top suppliers, as well as the shipment of thousands of rockets by Slovakia and Turkey. All...

UN register captures expanded small arms trade.(THE WORLD)
October 1, 2008... Since a new standard form for submitting small arms and light weapons transfer data was agreed to in 2006, a UN register for such information has seen increases in the number of countries filing voluntary reports and the volume of weapons they...

Conference on disarmament comes up empty again.(THE WORLD)
October 1, 2008... Despite urging from UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon and many participating governments, the 65-member Conference on Disarmament (CD) proved unable in 2008 to break its long-standing stalemate on negotiating priorities. It has been 12 years...

Arms control today's July/August 2008.(CORRECTION)(Correction notice)
October 1, 2008... On page 31 of Arms Control Today's July/August 2008 issue, the news article "111 Countries Approve Cluster Munitions Treaty" should read: "107 Countries Approve Cluster Munitions Treaty." Subsequent references within the article to "111...

BWC experts discuss biosecurity, awareness.(THE WORLD)(Biological Weapons Convention)
October 1, 2008... Member states of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) convened their annual Meeting of Experts in Geneva Aug. 18-22. Aimed at strengthening the implementation and improving the effectiveness of the convention, the meeting is part of a...

U.S. launches new safeguards initiative.(THE WORLD)(Next Generation Safeguards Initiative)
October 1, 2008... The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Sept. 11 launched an initiative aimed at bolstering international safeguards over civilian nuclear programs. According to a Sept. 11 NNSA fact sheet, the Next Generation...

Type, targets of sanctions shift in Bush administration.(News ANALYSIS)(United States President George W. Bush)
October 1, 2008... In September, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed proliferation sanctions on 25 Iranian entities. Enacted under Executive Order 13382, the sanctions freeze any U.S. assets of the accused and prohibit them from engaging in U.S. financial...

Report urges changes in air force nuke operations.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
October 1, 2008... A Department of Defense task force Sept. 12 recommended putting a single official in charge of the Air Force's nuclear mission as well as other structural and procedural changes in the ways the service handles that mission. The recommendations...

Destruction complete at U.S. chemical weapons site.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)(Newport Chemical Depot)
October 1, 2008... The United States has completed destruction of chemical weapons agents at Newport Chemical Depot in Newport, Ind. The milestone, announced by the Army Chemical Materials Agency Aug. 11, means that destruction has been completed at three of the...

Senate approves pacts regulating conventional arms.(THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAS)
October 1, 2008... During the final days of September, the Senate gave its advice and consent to the U.S. ratification of four measures related to a 1980 convention regulating the use of conventional weapons judged to be more inhumane or indiscriminate than...

In memoriam: Charles Van Doren.(IN MEMORIAM)(Obituary)
October 1, 2008... Charles Norton Van Doren, a former senior U.S. government official and lifelong advocate for the control of nuclear weapons, died Aug. 23 in Washington, D.C., at the age of 84. Van Doren was born in New Jersey and attended Harvard University...

Looking back: Carter's 1978 declaration and the significance of security assurances.
October 1, 2008... In terms of operational practice as distinct from political rhetoric, institutionalized security policy in the United States is based on two presumptions: that imperial aggression is the principal form of threat and that the countervailing...