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Digests and Blog
By Daryl G. Kimball and Tom Z. Collina This morning, President Obama and Defense Secretary Panetta unveiled their new defense strategy that is designed to yield some $450 billion plus in budget savings that must be achieved over the next decade. Their presentations did not detail specific programs that will be cut or trimmed, but instead they outlined a general vision that will guide the administration's defense budget decisions. Panetta said that the plan will maintain a "safe and effective nuclear deterrent," but did not explain how many nuclear weapons will be required for deterrence or…
By the Arms Control Association Staff The business of tracking and combating the dangers posed by the world's most dangerous weapons is often filled with grim news and frustrating setbacks. Often lost in the mix are the good deeds that lead to arms control successes. We believe it is important to recognize key individuals and institutions that best exemplify leadership and action in pursuing effective arms control solutions. This year, we've identified ten worthy nominees. Each, in their own way, has provided the leadership necessary to help reduce the threats posed by some of the world's…
By Benjamin Seel The different approaches to Iran sanctions of the Senate and President Obama's administration were on full display in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing room on Dec. 1. The Senate approach, articulated in the form of an amendment to the FY 2012 Defense Authorization Act sponsored by Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), will "require sanctions on financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank of Iran," and will cover both foreign commercial and state owned banks. Central banks will be targeted only after the Obama administration has…
By Daniel Horner On Dec. 5, the parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) began a review conference in Geneva that is scheduled to end Dec. 22. The BWC members meet every five years to assess the functioning of the treaty, which came into force in 1975 and has 165 parties. Clinton at the BWC review conference with Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal (Image Source: AP) One noteworthy element of the meeting's opening days was the Dec. 7 address by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first time a U.S. secretary of state has spoken at a BWC review conference, according to the…
By Daryl G. Kimball Today, the Indonesian parliament approved the ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, bringing the number ratifications necessary for entry into force down from 9 to 8. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa We hope to "create new momentum so that the other countries in a similar position to Indonesia can also follow suit in beginning their ratification process," Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said in September 2011. "We want our country to be at the vanguard of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation," said Hemly Fauzy, the…
Amb. Linton Brooks, the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration during the George W. Bush administration, said there is practically no chance of the United States resuming nuclear testing. Brooks, speaking at an ACA-sponsored Nov. 28 event on “The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty at 15: a Status Update,” described the political bar to testing as “too high” and stated that testing is not the best use of time or resources. Brooks expressed his confidence in the NNSA's Science Based Stockpile Stewardship and Management program ability to maintain a safe and reliable nuclear…
Today, the Indonesian parliament approved the ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, bringing the number ratifications necessary for entry into force down from 9 to 8. We hope to “create new momentum so that the other countries in a similar position to Indonesia can also follow suit in beginning their ratification process,” Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said in September 2011. “We believe that [the] CTBT is one of the main instruments for nuclear disarmament,” he said. “Indonesia will use its good relations to promote the Treaty in Asia and the Middle…
By Daryl G. Kimball Australia has for many years been a leader in establishing more robust barriers against nuclear proliferation, including its key role in the negotiation of the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and negotiation of the 1985 South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty (SPNFZ). Article 4 of the SPNFZ bars nuclear trade by members of the zone with states that do not accept comprehensive or "full-scope" safeguards on their nuclear facilities. The standard was established in order to prevent the use of nuclear technology and material supplied by SPNFZ states to be used for…
By Daryl G. Kimball Today in Geneva, delegations from over 100 nations ended a two week-long Review Conference on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) without reaching agreement on a controversial proposal backed by the United States that would have legitimized the continued use of cluster munitions and undermined the existing 2008 Convention on Cluster Cluster Munitions (CCM). According to early reports on the tense final day of the meeting, the CCW did not adopt a mandate for further work on cluster munitions. For nearly a decade, the body has discussed how to regulate…
By Daryl G. Kimball Today, the Obama administration announced it "would cease carrying out certain obligations under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty with regard to Russia." The announcement is a symptom of the long-running disputes that have emerged over CFE implementation over the years and the inability of key parties to reach common ground, despite the Obama administration's recent diplomatic overtures on the issue. The CFE Treaty led to the elimination of thousands of Soviet-era weapons. Today's U.S. announcement is a response to Russia's 2007 announcement that it…