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Authored by on August 24, 2010
According to a recent Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Proliferation Analysis by Daryl Kimball, President Obama should use the International Day against Nuclear Tests to reiterate his pledge to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. American Does Not Need to Test Its Nuclear Arsenal [T]here is simply no technical or military rationale for resuming testing. Contrary to myth, the United States has never relied on nuclear testing to ensure that proven warhead designs still work, but rather to perfect new types of nuclear bombs, which the U.S. military no longer needs nor wants…
Authored by on August 13, 2010
Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance and Implementation Rose Gottemoeller spoke at the U.S. Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium yesterday, enumerating the finer points of the administration's final push for New START ratification and reaffirming its commitment to pursuing CTBT ratification in the future. "Ratification of the CTBT is central to leading other nuclear weapons states toward a world of diminished reliance on nuclear weapons, reduced nuclear competition, and eventual nuclear disarmament," Secretary Gottemoeller said. Though ratifying the CTBT "will not…
Authored by on August 12, 2010
In an excellent editorial on August 11, The Salt Lake Tribune criticizes Mike Lee for his inconsistent and often misinformed position on the CTBT and urged Utah's Senate delegation to support the treaty. After signing a right-wing petition that included opposition to the treaty, then reconsidering and expressing support for ratification, the candidate for Senate announced last week that he was once again opposed to ratification of the CTBT. "Clearly, Lee is having difficulty deciding on this issue," the Tribune writes. "That's fine. It's complex. But we would urge him to return to the…
Authored by on August 11, 2010
The American Bar Association's House of Delegates announced on August 10 that it "urges the United States to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty." The resolution passed the 561-member body by a unanimous voice vote, and no members spoke in opposition to the treaty. Similarly, the ABA House of Delegations passed a resolution in 1994 to call for the U.S. government to curb the spread of nuclear weapons through measures like a comprehensive test ban and further support and continuation of the NPT.
Authored by on August 9, 2010
Last Friday, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon became the first sitting Secretary General to attend the memorial service for the bombing, where he called for the entry into force of the CTBT by 2012. "Now is the time...The time for rapid entry into force of the (CTBT). Let us set the goal of 2012," he said. Members of the United States, French and British governments also attended the ceremony for the first time. Ban Ki-Moon also announced at the service that he will convene an annual high-level meeting in September to…
Authored by on August 9, 2010
Utah Republican candidate for the Senate Mike Lee has reversed his earlier common-sense position against renewed nuclear testing, and is now indicating that if elected, he would not support the CTBT. In May, Lee announced that he would most likely vote for CTBT ratification. At the time, Lee remarked that, "I don't think we need [nuclear testing] and I think, on the whole, we as Americans would be safer if the treaty were in place." The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Lee's deputy campaign manager Dan Hauser said last Thursday, "[The treaty is] basically [stating] you could never use a…
Authored by on August 2, 2010
The European Union Council has provided a contribution of €5,280,000 as part of their EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the CTBTO announced last week. The contribution marks the largest ever voluntary contribution by the EU to the CTBTO, and is more than €5 million beyond the EU Member States' assessed annual contribution. A CTBTO press release states that the EU contribution will directly fund work related to the CTBTO auxiliary seismic station, strengthening on site inspections and the monitoring of noble gases and providing technical assistant to African,…
Authored by on August 2, 2010
Published in June, former CTBT deputy chief negotiator for Russia, Victor Slipchenko has written an especially useful VERTIC Occasional Paper on the challenges facing U.S. ratification of the test ban, and considers what the United States' main counterpoint, Russia, could do to help its prospects. If you haven't done so already, it's certainly worth the read. "The Obama administration will need as much help as it can get from other CTBT supporters - Russia in particular - if entry into force is ever to become reality," he writes. Slipchenko identifies two criticisms of the treaty that are…
Authored by on July 30, 2010
This week, ACA Executive Director Daryl Kimball published an Issue Brief responding to lingering questions and doubts regarding the United States' ability to maintain its nuclear stockpile into the indefinite future. While these issues are an important part of the current ratification debate of New START, they have lasting repercussions on any future conversation on nuclear arms control, namely consideration of the CTBT. As such, these misconceptions should be dispensed with promptly. Daryl refutes the standard treaty-skeptic talking points, positing that the "existing strategy for warhead…
Authored by on July 20, 2010
The Consensus for American Security, sponsored by the American Security Project, officially launched its website yesterday. The Consensus is a non-partisan group of retired military officials and national security experts who are "motivated by a sense of urgency to improve America's nuclear security, reduce the likelihood of terrorists obtaining nuclear materials, and confront the proliferation of nuclear weapons." Toward that end, the group of 33 high-level officials have united behind a few key policies to achieve a safer and more secure world. The Consensus for American Security statement…