Digests and Blog

Mock Scud-B missiles on display at the Korean War Museum in Seoul. (Source: AP Photos) By Kathleen E. Masterson South Korea and the United States have recently entered working-level talks to discuss extending the range of South Korea's missiles. A decade ago Seoul successfully lobbied Washington for entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an informal coalition of 34 states committed to limiting the proliferation of ballistic missiles and other unmanned delivery systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. At the time Washington was hesitant to allow the South…

It's not easy being a nuclear superpower at a time of tight budgets. The simple truth is that the United States cannot afford to spend over $400 billion on new strategic weapons over the next few decades. The Nation needs a new plan, and ACA has one. Read on for how the Pentagon can save billions on submarines and bombers while still fielding as many nuclear warheads as planned under New START. The following was originally posted on Defense News on October 24, 2011. U.S. Must Rethink New Subs, Bombers By TOM COLLINA and KELSEY DAVENPORT Twenty years after the break-up of the Soviet Union,…

Iranian Rhesus monkeys in containers of type used for failed space launch. By Greg Thielmann Iran's unsuccessful attempt to launch a Rhesus monkey into space last month merits more mention than it has received in the press thus far, because of what it implies for U.S. nonproliferation objectives. The failure provides two timely reminders: 1) a long-range missile threat from Iran is not imminent; and 2) Iran's quest for space-faring nation status is encumbered by the international sanctions that have been imposed due to Tehran's unwillingness to abide by its safeguards obligations to the…

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (Image Source: CBS News) By Greg Thielmann The White Paper on U.S. security strategy released October 7 by "Romney for President, Inc." shows some improvement over the July 2010 articles of GOP presidential candidate Romney regarding New START, which were riddled with factual errors. His public comments were severely criticized then by the leading treaty experts of both parties. Perhaps Romney's recently announced foreign policy team deserves credit for helping the candidate with fact-checking and with establishing the pledge that, as president, he…

By Xiaodon Liang Next week, the world's most notorious arms trafficker, Viktor Bout, will go on trial in New York. Bout's case underscores the urgent need for stronger national and international efforts to curb illicit gun running and conventional arms proliferation. Viktor Bout walks out of a Thai jail August 2009 after an initial ruling barring his extradition to the United States. Source: Narong Sangnak/EPA Bout faces four conspiracy charges stemming from a U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sting operation conducted in 2007 and 2008. According to the…

By Oliver Meier On July 7, in a rare show of unity on nuclear issues between France and Germany, the ambassadors of both countries sent a joint proposal to NATO members on the future of the new Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disarmament Committee (WCDC). Despite this compromise, however, the Alliance's role in nuclear arms control remains a contentious issue. In the run-up to the NATO summit in Lisbon in November last year, which adopted the Alliance's new Strategic Concept, Berlin and Paris were deeply divided on a range of nuclear issues, including on nuclear arms control. While the German…

By Peter Crail The following entry was originally posted on The Hill's Congress Blog on September 29, 2011. During Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN last week, many attendees turned their backs and walked out. Although they were reacting to another anti-West tirade by the embattled president, the reaction was also indicative of Iran's own increasing isolation over its human rights abuses, its destabilizing role in the region, and of course, its nuclear program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Speaks at the UN (Image Source: Associated Press) In the past month, we…

U.S.-Russian negotiations on strategic arms reductions have demonstrated time and again that U.S. missile defense plans are an obstacle to negotiating lower levels of offensive nuclear forces. Security experts have been providing more reminders lately that in attempting to treat the effects of ballistic missile proliferation, missile defense programs are also having a counterproductive effect on the causes of ballistic missile proliferation. One of the shibboleths characteristic of most missile defense advocates is their faith-based assertion that missile defenses discourage proliferators…

The CTBTO is inviting people the world over to submit their video messages and photos explaining why they support a world without nuclear testing. Make your voice heard! Add your "Close the Door on Nuclear Testing" message to the campaign! Watch the campaign video and submit your own (< 15 seconds) video clip here. Alternatively, send in a picture of yourself closing a door or holding a "Close the Door on Nuclear Testing" sign. Submit to [email protected] The best entries will be included in a compilation and broadcast worldwide.

A number of leading nuclear arms control proponents said last week that the international community should act promptly to make key features of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty permanent, despite a widespread view that the pact itself will not be formally implemented for many years to come. Because it has not yet entered into force, the organizations created to promote the agreement and build its verification regime were labeled temporary from the outset. "We propose to eliminate [the] words 'provisional' and 'preparatory' from the letterheads" of CTBT-related institutions and from…