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North Korea Nutshell: Wish List for a New Year
2007-12-24 06:54:00
As I'll be out of town for the holidays, I won't be able to provide any in-depth weekly review of events in and around North Korea (congrats to Lee Myung-bak as the new SKorea President). But instead of leaving a week with no post, I thought I would complete an important yearly exercise for those of us caught up in the pessimism that abounds in foreign policy. That exercise being to harness the positivity that surrounds the holiday season and attempt to view the next year in the most optimistic light possible. So in that spirit, I?ve put together a list of events that could, and I would argue... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: New Year , North Korea , List

Nuke and NonPro Highlights of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill
2007-12-21 23:29:00
The Center?s Leonor Tomero put out a great summary and analysis of the nuclear non-proliferation highlights of the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations bill. Her report significantly expands on my earlier post on zeroing out RRW and cutting GNEP. The bill made significant contributions to the goals of effective nuclear non-proliferation by increasing funding for almost all nuclear non-proliferation programs, while cutting funding for controversial programs that undermine and jeopardize those goals. The highlights include: Funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (that proposes to design... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Highlights , Nuke , Bill

Arms Control Person of the Year
2007-12-21 21:42:00
The Arms Control Association just released a list of nominees for the first ever "Arms Control Person of the Year " to recognize some of the most significant figures and groups who have helped make the world a safer place this year. Vote here to choose from the following candidates or make a nomination of your own. The nominees are? Jonas Gahr Støre, Foreign Minister of Norway for spearheading his government's initiative to negotiate a treaty banning cluster munitions after the failure of states to agree to such talks at the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]

Russia Supplies Nuclear Fuel to Iran
2007-12-21 01:32:00
The complex triad of relations between the U.S., Russia , and Iran got a little messier Monday when Russia announced its sale of nuclear fuel to Iran. The delivery of lowly enriched uranium fuel rods to Iran's Bushehr power plant was not a surprise to the international community. It had been delayed several times in the past, and the Bush administration had a few weeks warning before Monday's announcement. This knowledge, however, does not diminish the extent to which this may affect relations between Iran and Russia, nor the extent to which it will complicate each country's already... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Nuclear , Fuel , Supplies

Congressional Schedule for DoD and DoE Bills
2007-12-18 21:45:00
Provided below is an updated schedule of Congressional action on key Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DoE) bills, as prepared by David Culp of FCNL. [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Schedule , Bills

North Korea Nutshell: Cooperation
2007-12-18 20:40:00
The theme of the week in the North Korea news scene is cooperation, or rather the lack thereof. This tends to be a rather common factor when dealing with North Korea as their foreign policy can be best described as erratic. Not to say that there aren?t some cold calculations done whenever the North decides to reverse course on something that was thought to have been already decided, but the frequency with which this happens tends to leave most people in the policy community with a certain amount of pessimism towards progress. Anyway, last week started off well with the famed New York... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Cooperation

Congress Releases Omnibus Appropriations Bill, Zeroes Out RRW and Cuts GNEP
2007-12-17 20:42:00
Congress released today its joint House-Senate omnibus appropriations bill, the FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which zeroes out RRW and significantly cuts GNEP. As noted in a summary from the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, the bill ?prohibits the development of a reliable replacement warhead until the President develops a strategic nuclear weapons plan to guide transformation and downsizing of the stockpile and nuclear weapons complex.? The accompanying explanatory statement details this further: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Strategy for the 21st... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Congress , Bill , Cuts , Prop

National Security Legislative Wrap-up
2007-12-17 20:03:00
This will probably be Congress' last week in session. The House will consider today the Omnibus Appropriations bill, a bill that covers the remaining 11 appropriation bills yet to be passed by Congress. The measure will include both the Energy and Water and Foreign Operations appropriations bills. The bill will then go to the Senate. Last week, Congress completed action on the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization Conference Report (H.R. 1585). ACTION IN THE LAST WEEK Last week, both houses of Congress approved the conference report on the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization bill,... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Security , National , National Security , Wrap

Biden and Richardson Highlight Cuts to Missile Defense and RRW in Dem Prez
2007-12-15 20:12:00
Like the recent Republican presidential debates, Thursday?s Democratic presidential debate in Iowa featured little discussion of nuke and nonpro issues. There was no mention, for instance, of Iran or the recently released NIE on Iran?s nuclear weapons programs. The debate (transcript here) instead focused mainly on domestic issues and the few references to nuke and nonpro issues were couched in those terms. On how to balance the budget, Biden responded by highlighting cuts to several contentious programs, including missile defense and RRW: BIDEN: ? Just by eliminating the [Iraq] war,... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Missile Defense , Defense , Prez , Highlight , Richardson

Nuke and NonPro Highlights from Recent Republican Prez Debates
2007-12-14 18:52:00
Not much to report on the nuke and nonpro front from the two recent Republican presidential debates, which largely focused instead on domestic issues. The first debate was held last Sunday at the University of Miami in Florida (transcript here), while the second debate was held on Wednesday in Iowa (transcript here). In Florida, contrasting sharply with the numerous references to ?winning? the Iraq war made by numerous candidates, the one mention of Iran came from Fred Thompson: THOMPSON: ? If we leave Iraq with our tail between our legs, we are going to enhance their ability to recruit... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Debates , Prez , Highlights , Recent

Jonathan Schell: The Old and New Shapes of Nuclear Danger
2007-12-12 06:01:00
The forthcoming issue of The Nation features a tremendous article by Jonathan Schell on nuclear abolition. Placing it in its current political context, he recounts the near breakthrough at Reykjavik and traces the idea?s development through to its current reemergence. (Note the shout out of Council for a Livable World, the Center?s sister organization, in the discussion of organizations working towards this goal.) A few choice paragraphs: With the end of the cold war, a new era of the nuclear age opened. At first it seemed that with the old restraining parity with the Soviet Union a... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Nuclear , Shapes , Danger

Nuke and NonPro Highlights of the Conference Agreement on the FY08 Defense
2007-12-11 22:12:00
The Center?s Chris Hellman released his Highlights of the Conference Agreement on the FY08 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 1585/S. 1547) today. The House and Senate conferees completed their work on H.R. 1585, the FY?08 Defense Authorization bill, on December 6. The bill includes $506.9 billion for the Department of Defense and the nuclear weapons activities of the Department of Energy. The bill also authorizes $189.4 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This funding is NOT counted as part of the $506.9 billion. The full House is expected to take up consideration... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Nuke

National Security Legislative Wrap-up
2007-12-10 19:59:00
The House-Senate conference on the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization Conference Report (H.R. 1585) completed work on December 6, and sent the bill to the House and Senate for final approval, which is likely this week. The House and Senate appropriations committees are working on an omnibus appropriations bill which will cover the remaining 11 appropriation bills yet to be passed by Congress. The House is scheduled to vote on it Tuesday, and the Senate should vote on it later this week. The measure will include both the Energy and Water and Foreign Operations appropriations bills. The... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Security , National , National Security , Wrap

Congressional Schedule for DoD and DoE Bills
2007-12-10 16:16:00
Provided below is an updated schedule of Congressional action on key Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DoE) bills, as prepared by David Culp of FCNL. [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Schedule , Bills

Dem Prez Candidates on Iran ? Again
2007-12-10 06:01:00
Last week?s NPR-sponsored Democratic presidential debate in Iowa was initially dominated by all things Iran : the recently released NIE, the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, Iranian involvement in Iraq, etc. (Some might recall that last month?s MSNBC-sponsored debate also was dominated by the topic of Iran.) It then turned to foreign policy doctrines, China, safety standards for toys, China again, and immigration. The full transcript can be found here. Although chalked full of interesting moments, one highlight came in the spat between NPR moderators Robert Siegel and John Inskeep and Rep. Dennis... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Candidates , Prez , Candidate

Second Guessing the Iran NIE
2007-12-10 02:42:00
Gary Hart, Chairman of the Center?s sister organization, Council for a Livable World, recently wrote an interesting piece in the Huffington Post comparing Alan Dershowitz?s second guessing of the new NIE on Iran to the Right?s derision of any Cold War intelligence that challenged the notion that ?the Russians are coming and they're 30 feet tall." As he sardonically notes, ?Intelligence is good when it tells you what you want to hear. Otherwise, it is dangerously flawed if not sinister.? Click here for the full piece. Council Board Member Jim Walsh also had a great piece in the Boston Globe... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]

North Korea Nutshell: The Good, The Bad, and the Expected
2007-12-09 00:02:00
The last week in news involving North Korea has been full of both worry and cautious optimism. As the careful reader will remember, the next round of the 6-party talks in Beijing was supposed to begin this week, with the topic of the day being North Korea ?s draft list of nuclear materials and facilities. The list never came and the talks were postponed accordingly. While some see this as a looming crisis, others point to the fact that when dealing with a subject as important as denuclearization, some flexibility in time tables is required. North Korea is still under the deadlines imposed by... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Good , The Good

Everybody's Talking about the NIE
2007-12-06 00:03:00
Bush and friends may still be beating the war drums, but they've been harder to hear amid the cacophony of voices both on the Hill and around the world since Monday's release of the declassified key findings from the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran. The intelligence community now judges that Tehran ended its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003. In other words, they acknowledge they were wrong. The 2005 NIE had incorrectly judged that, "Iran currently is determined to develop nuclear weapons despite its international obligations and international pressure." The... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Talking , Everybody

National Security Legislative Wrap-up
2007-12-04 00:56:00
Congress returns this week from its Thanksgiving recess. The top national security bill on the agenda is the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization Conference Report, likely on the House floor as early as Wednesday. It is possible that the Senate will again consider legislation to continue funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, it is reported that House and Senate appropriations staff are working on an omnibus appropriations bill which will cover the remaining 11 appropriation bills yet to be passed by Congress. The measure will include the Energy and Water Appropriations... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Security , National , National Security , Wrap

Jeffrey Lewis: 5 Myths About the Bomb and Us
2007-12-03 17:39:00
In case you missed it, Jeff Lewis put out a great piece over the weekend that breaks down five current misperceptions about US. nuclear weapons. For the curious, the five myths are: 1. The U.S. nuclear stockpile is the smallest since the Eisenhower administration. 2. Our nuclear arsenal is as small as it can be. 3. Accidents can't happen. 4. Russia isn't an enemy, so we don't need arms control. 5. Reductions in U.S. forces don't matter to Iran or North Korea. Sadly, this list really could be endless. Another myth that immediately jumps to mind is that the current U.S.... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Myths , Bomb , Jeffrey , Jeffrey Lewis

UC Paper Publishes Anti-RRW Op-Ed
2007-11-30 19:20:00
The Daily Californian, the student newspaper at my alma madder of the University of California ? Berkeley, ran today an excellent op-ed by the Center?s Robert Gard, Leonor Tomero, and Achraf Farraj. The piece urges students and faculty to question UC?s role in the development of RRW. Golden Bears, unite! When the Deterrent Becomes a Threat Students and Faculty Should Question the UC Role in Development of a New Hydrogen Bomb The University of California manages Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a facility leading the development of the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead, the... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Paper , Anti , Op-Ed

Appropriations update
2007-11-30 08:12:00
*Update care of David Culp of FCNL. The House and Senate appropriations staff are working now on an omnibus appropriations bill, which will cover the remaining 11 appropriation bills. The total price tag for the package will be $10.6 billion over the president's request. The House expects to take up the omnibus first, the week of December 10. The bill will then go to the Senate floor, followed by a brief House-Senate conference. (The two bills may end up different.) Congress is hoping to get the bill to the president before the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on Friday,... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Prop

New Sparks in Missile Defense
2007-11-30 06:34:00
Several new issues have arisen regarding the controversial third missile defense site planned for Europe since Nukes of Hazard's last summary post on the subject. Two weeks ago, a senior Russian general announced a potential retaliatory measure to the site. The following week, Rick Lehner, spokesperson for the Missi le Defense Agency, critically responded to comments by Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) on their purpose. And this week, Russia claimed that U.S. proposals aimed at cooperation between the two nations did not live up to the plans that had emerged from earlier discussions. ... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Sparks

Introducing the "North Korea Nutshell"
2007-11-29 06:24:00
North Kore a remains one of the most important challenges in nonproliferation today. As such, Nukes of Hazard is unveiling a brief weekly recap of events in and around North Korea called the ?North Korea Nutshell,? courtesy of Eli Lewine. Given the large amount of material that could be covered, we invite readers to add anything that we might have missed and, of course, encourage you to chime in and leave comments as well. Earlier this month, North Korea began working with international experts to disable its nuclear reactor and reprocessing plant at Yongbyon. The agreement reached on... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: North

Dangerous Rhetoric: Putin Calls for "Raising the Combat Readiness" of Russi
2007-11-28 06:59:00
In a public address to the heads of the Russian Armed Forces last Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin stated that, "One of the most important [military modernization] tasks remains raising the combat readiness of the strategic nuclear forces. They should be ready to deliver a quick and adequate reply to any aggressor.? While some media sources treated the statement as an important development in the Russian military posture, Putin's statement appears to have been more rhetorical than strategic. However, Putin's tendency to flex his country's nuclear weapons capabilities for domestic... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Calls , Combat , Dangerous , Comb

If You Like War in Iraq, You?ll Love War on Iran
2007-11-28 01:07:00
The Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation today launched an online ad campaign which asks people to sign a petition urging Congress to prevent a military attack on Iran . The ad (right) will run throughout the blogosphere through Sunday night. The Center opposes any potential nuclear weapons program in Iran, but we believe that Iran is not an imminent threat to U.S. national security and is unlikely to be for several years. U.S. policy should focus first on tough, strong-minded diplomacy and negotiation. If we have learned nothing else from Iraq , it is that there are limitations to... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Love , War in Iraq

National Security Legislative Wrap-up, November 13-16 2007
2007-11-19 18:31:00
Congress is out of town for two weeks until December 4th. Before leaving town for the Thanksgiving recess, both houses of Congress considered legislation to continue funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but with restrictions. The House voted 218 - 203 to approve $50 billion for the wars while establishing a timetable for the withdrawal of most American troops from Iraq, prompting a veto threat from President Bush. The Senate voted 53 - 45 to bring up the same legislation, but 60 votes were required and the bill died. The conferees did not reach final agreement on the Fiscal Year... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Security , National , National Security , November , Wrap

U.S. and Russian Publics Strongly Support Steps to Reduce and Eliminate Nuc
2007-11-18 01:16:00
The University of Maryland?s Center for International and Security Studies (CISSM) and its Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) recently released a new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of American and Russian attitudes toward recent cooperative nuclear risk reduction proposals. The key findings of the study are: 1. De-alerting Nuclear Weapons Large majorities of Americans and Russians favor reducing the number of nuclear weapons on high alert. Robust majorities on both sides would even favor a mutual agreement to take all of their weapons off high alert, if the two... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Support , Reduce , Mina , Steps

Nuke and Nonpro Highlights from Last Night?s Dem Prez Debate
2007-11-17 03:12:00
Feisty beginning aside, last night?s CNN-sponsored Democratic presidential debate at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas held little in the way of nuclear weapons and nonproliferation issues. Nevertheless, provided below are John Edward?s response to a question on Pakistan and Barack Obama and Bill Richardson?s response on what should be done with nuclear waste. Key points are bolded. The full transcript can be found here. The first international issue of the night, Wolf Blitzer asked John Edwards to weigh in on the topic of Pakistan: MR. EDWARDS: Well, I think first of all, we have... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Debate , Night , Prez , Highlights , Nuke

Nukes! Huh! What Are They Good For?
2007-11-15 08:47:00
The Arms Control Association (ACA) released an excellent report last week that concludes ?ambitious nuclear weapons reductions by the United States would help lessen distrust with Russia and aid global efforts to curb the spread of nuclear arms.? Entitled What Are Nuclear Weapons For? Recommendations for Restructuring U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces, the report was authored by Stanford physicist Sidney Drell and Ambassador James Good by. Drell and Goodby suggest a total U.S. force structure of 1,000 nuclear warheads in 2012, with 500 nuclear warheads being operationally deployed and an... [This is a content summary only. Click on the above link for the full post.]
More About: Nukes