Digests and Blog

By Rob Golan-Vilella As Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington this week, the United States and China have reached an agreement that will improve nuclear security in China. The NNSA announced yesterday that the two nations have signed a memorandum of understanding that will establish a nuclear security "Center of Excellence" in China. According to the NNSA: The Center will serve as a forum for exchanging technical information, sharing best practices, developing training courses, and promoting technical collaborations that will enhance nuclear security in China and throughout Asia. This…

By Alfred Nurja The Arms Control Association hosted a briefing today on Iran's nuclear program entitled "Toward a Negotiated Solution," part of ACA's "Solving the Iranian Nuclear Puzzle" Briefing Series. The session focused on examining what a viable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue would look like and ways to achieve it. This was the second of four briefings designed to analyze the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear program and explore ways to deal with it. A full transcript of the session will be available early next week. The following highlights are based on my notes:…

The permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany and Iran are scheduled to hold a second round of discussions over Iran's nuclear program on Jan. 21-22 in Istanbul. This second round of talks comes in the wake of increased reports that a combination of sanctions and technological set-backs have slowed down the Iranian nuclear program buying more time for negotiations. As a tool for providing leverage these measures may have improved the international community's negotiating position but all these reports have provided little new light on the outlines of a negotiated agreement that…

Today, the staff at the Arms Control Association are delighted and honored to announce that the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation have named us a recipient of the 2010 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, the "genius" award for exceptional institutions. According to the Foundation, award winners "are highly creative and effective organizations that have made a remarkable impact in their fields, driving significant change on modest budgets." "The award recognizes institutions around the globe that are leaders on critical issues and challenges. We are very proud…

December was an exciting month for arms control news, led by the Senate's approval of New START. For insight on the stories you've heard, as well as a few you haven't, check out the newly released January/February edition of Arms Control Today: Tom Z. Collina captures the dramatic twists and turns in the weeks and days leading up to the Senate's December 22 vote to approve the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. After years of stalemate, the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors gave the green light for a plan to set up a nuclear fuel bank under IAEA control. Daniel Horner…

... Kazakhstan's Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Umarov, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Administrator Tom D'Agostino, and their international partners "for securing material containing 10 metric tons of highly enriched uranium and three metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium, which is enough to make about 775 nuclear weapons. The operation is the largest of its kind and is an example of the international cooperation envisaged by the leaders attending the April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C." The winners received the highest number votes in ACA's online poll…

On December 22, by a margin of 71-26, a bipartisan coalition of senators recognized that U.S. and international security is stronger when the United States takes the lead to reduce the size of world's two largest nuclear arsenals and to limit the ability of other states to improve their nuclear capabilities. The New START vote suggests it is possible for the Obama administration encourage the Senate to reconsider and come together around the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The strong vote for New START is remarkable in this time of hyper-partisanship. As Senator John Kerry noted…

By Daryl G. Kimball Over the past 24 hours, a number of Republican Senators have added their voice in support for ratification of New START, reinforcing that it is a common sense, mainstream step forward that transcends the traditional partisan political divide. Minutes ago, the Senate voted 67-28 to bring debate on the treaty to a close, which should lead to a vote on final passage by tomorrow or sooner. Unfortunately, over the past several days, the few Senators speaking on the floor against the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty have chosen to go against the bipartisan mainstream and…

By Greg Thielmann, Senior Fellow, Arms Control Association The U.S. Senate will meet today in the historic Old Senate Chamber for a classified session on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. While we do not know exactly what will be discussed or what will be said, open testimony and statements from senior U.S. military leaders and intelligence officials suggest that the following points—all of which argue for prompt ratification—will be discussed and reviewed. Verification and Monitoring -- The classified session will likely make clear why senior U.S. defense and intelligence officials…

by Daryl G. Kimball Against the advice of the U.S. military and intelligence community who unanimously support prompt ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, several Republican Senators have filed several misguided, treaty-killer amendments to the treaty itself, as well as some ill-conceived amendments to the resolution of advice and consent for ratification that should all be rejected. The commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, the command that oversees the Air Force's nuclear enterprise, says the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia should be ratified…