Digests and Blog

By Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director, Arms Control Association Today, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reached agreement on a detailed plan for the expeditious accounting, inspection, control, and elimination of Syria's sizable arsenal of chemical weapons, with provision for enforcement by the UN Security Council. Among other things, the plan calls on Syria to provide a full declaration of its stockpile "within a week" and "to achieve accountability for their chemical weapons, the Syrians must provide the OPCW, the UN, and other supporting…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming week, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. (Send your suggestions here.) - Jefferson Morley,Senior Editorial Consultant, Arms Control Today UN Report on Syria's Chemical Weapons Due on Monday The U.N. chemical weapons inspectors are expected to deliver their report on a suspected Aug. 21 nerve agent attack in the suburbs of Damascus to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Monday or sooner, according to Foreign Policy magazine, and other news organizations. The report is expected to…

By Daryl G. Kimball Today, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia will push Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control if such a move would help avert a possible, punitive U.S. cruise missile strike on Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons on August 21 by regime forces. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham said this afternoon in remarks at White House that if Syria immediately surrenders stockpile, as suggested by Secretary of State Kerry and Russia, "that would be an important step" but can't be "another excuse for delay." Senior…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming week, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. (Send your suggestions here.) - Jefferson Morley,Senior Editorial Consultant, Arms Control Today House and Senate to Open Syria Debate; Obama to Speak to Nation On September 9 or 10, the House of Representatives and the Senate will open floor debate on President Obama's request for authorization to use military force to respond to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by the forces of Bashar al-Assad on August 21. The Senate Foreign…

By Greg Thielmann BAGHDAD, IRAQ - (VIDEO STILL) U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein shake hands December 20, 1983 in Baghdad. Rumsfeld met with Hussein during the war between Iran and Iraq as an envoy for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Rumsfeld made no reference to Iraq's use of chemical weapons, according to detailed official notes on the meeting. (Photo by Getty Images) As the international community seeks to craft an appropriate response to the Syrian government's August 21 use of chemical weapons (CW), ghosts from the Iran-Iraq War haunt the…

A UN inspector at one of the sites of the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Zamalka. By Daryl G. Kimball There are no international laws against war itself, but there are rules about how wars can and cannot be conducted. Chemical weapons are particularly gruesome, inhumane, and indiscriminate--affecting combatants and noncombatant civilians alike. For these and other reasons, their use has been outlawed worldwide for over 90 years--since the horrors of WWI trench warfare and the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which is one of the most important pillars of international law.…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming week, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. (Send your suggestions here.) - Jefferson Morley,Senior Editorial Consultant, Arms Control Today UN Inspectors to Report Saturday on Syrian Chemical Weapons Amid news reports that the United States will launch an attack on Syria for use of chemical weapons, the U.N. inspection team investigating the chemical weapons attack that took place near Damascus on August 21 will leave Syria on Saturday and report their findings immediately to U…

Official photo of Hassan Rouhani, the 7th President of Iran. By Kelsey Davenport and Daryl G. Kimball Iran is continuing to make slow but steady progress on its nuclear program, according to the August 2013 quarterly report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Tehran continues to install more centrifuges, including its second generation model. Iran's accumulation its stockpiles of uranium enriched to 3.5 percent has increased modestly, while the quantity of uranium hexaflouride enriched to 20 percent remains roughly the same as reported in May. Iran is also moving forward on…

Daryl G. Kimball Executive Director, Arms Control Association August 28, 2013 The deadly war for control of Syria has taken a gruesome turn for the worse with the heinous attack against civilian populations on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21. The available evidence, including credible reports from Doctors Without Borders, strongly suggests that the many injuries and deaths reported were the result of a major chemical weapons attack. In this instance, the use of chemicals was more significant and the casualties were greater than earlier suspected episodes involving chemical munitions--…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming week, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. (Send your suggestions for events to be covered here.) - Jefferson Morley,Senior Editorial Consultant, Arms Control Today Iran to name nuclear negotiator soon Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani is expected to name a new nuclear negotiator in the coming days, which could open the way for the scheduling of the next round of P5+1 talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear program. Rouhani, as well as P5+1 lead negotiator Catherine…