Digests and Blog

Following up on the May 10 address on "The Case for the CTBT" by Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller spoke on June 9 in Chicago on the importance of the treaty and on June 14 in Vienna to the CTBT Preparatory Commission. In her Chicago speech, Gottemoeller said: "The United States has not conducted a nuclear explosive test since 1992, in keeping with our moratorium on nuclear testing. Thus, as a practical matter, our policies and practices are consistent with the central prohibition of the…

Staunch opponents of the CTBT have taken notice of the Obama administration’s effort to engage the Senate on the CTBT. Unfortunately, these “pro-testers” are only too willing to ignore key facts and repeat outdated myths about the Test Ban Treaty. Supporters of the nuclear test ban will need to address legitimate questions that Senators may have about the treaty, but not allow misinformation to shape the terms of the developing debate. In a recent Web Memo, opeds, and a blogpost, commentators from the Heritage Foundation have claimed that “nothing has changed” over the past decade, that…

A new multimedia website—TheReaganVision.org—has been launched to advance former President Ronald Reagan’s dream of creating a world without nuclear weapons. The privately supported site includes background information on key issues including the Test Ban Treaty, frequent news updates, opinion pieces, and most interestingly, a professionally-produced online ad encouraging support for the CTBT. Check it out and pass on the word.

by Daryl G. Kimball Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee marked up the fiscal year 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which includes funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration's nuclear weapons activities, commonly referred to as the "nuclear weapons complex." Early news accounts have overlooked the fact that the House Energy and Water Appropriations bill would increase—not decrease—the NNSA weapons activities budget above the previous year's level, and has allocated more than enough money to keep programs on track but not so much as to be fiscally irresponsible…

By Greg Thielmann I would like to second Sarah Palin in being "appalled and surprised" in reading the June 7 Foreign Policy article by R. James Woolsey and Rebeccah Heinrichs, "Giving Away the Farm." But the reason for my reaction is completely different. (Image Source: C-SPAN Video) The emergence of a potential Iranian ICBM threat to the United States is one of the foundations on which the authors of this article build their case against the administration's missile defense policies. It is therefore particularly significant that Mr. Woolsey, a former Director of Central Intelligence, would…

By Tom Collina As ACA reported in a recent blog post, the State Department announced June 1 that Russia's nuclear arsenal is already below the limits set by the New START treaty. Most people would say it's a good thing that there are now less deployed nuclear weapons in Russia that could be aimed at the United States. Most people would say it's good that Moscow reduced its forces early, rather than wait until 2018, as the treaty allows both sides to do. And most people would say that New START has already made America safer. Sen. John Kyl R-Ariz. (Image Source: AP) But Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.)…

by Daryl G. Kimball This week former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin parroted the misinformed critiques by Republican members of Congress and former CIA director James Woolsey about sharing missile launch data with Russia. In an entry on her Facebook page, Palin wrote: "President Obama wants to give Russia our missile defense secrets because he believes that we can buy their friendship and cooperation with this taxpayer-funded gift. But giving military secrets and technologies to a rival or competitor like Russia is just plain dumb. You can't buy off Russia. And giving them advanced military…

President Barack Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia sign the New START Treaty during a ceremony at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, April 8, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) By Tom Collina Observers of last year's Senate debate on the New START treaty may be surprised to learn that Russia has already met most of its arsenal reduction obligations under the treaty. According to a State Department fact sheet released today, Russia is below the treaty's limits of 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 700 deployed delivery vehicles, and close to the 800…

Reps. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) By Alfred Nurja As we approach the one year anniversary of the CISADA Act , the U.S. Congress is considering new Iran sanctions legislation. Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Democratic ranking member Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and a number of other House Members have introduced a new bill in the House, entitled Iran Threat Reduction Act. (H.R. 1905). The Senate is expected to soon follow suit with a bill of its own. While making sense of these measures and walking through their implications…

In the most detailed and substantive address by a senior Barack Obama administration official to date, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen O. Tauscher spoke at the Arms Control Association's May 10 annual meeting on "The Case for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty." She made it clear that the administration would soon engage with Republican and Democratic Senators on the CTBT and provide updated information on the key technical issues that gave some Senators reason for pause during the 1999 debate on the treaty. Tauscher explained in detail…