Arms Control Now Blog

Authored by on July 15, 2011

The U.S. Atomic Energy Detection System (USAEDS), a sensor system established in 1947, is capable of detecting “nuclear explosions that occur under land or sea, in the atmosphere or in space,” according to a July 12, 2011 Department of Defense news report. This detection system monitors three important nuclear treaties, the Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963), the Threshold Ban Treaty (1974), and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty (1976), and is based out of the U.S. Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC). The news report states that USAEDS is comprised of sensors aboard over 20…

Authored by on July 1, 2011

During a June 30th-July 1st NPT Review Conference follow-up meeting, the P5 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council) reaffirmed their continued commitment to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The following is an excerpt from the Final Joint Press Statement of the P5: “The P5 States recalled their commitment to promote and ensure the swift entry into force of the CTBT and its universalization. They called upon all States to uphold the moratorium on nuclear weapons-test explosions or any other nuclear explosion, and to refrain from acts that would defeat the object and…

Authored by on June 20, 2011

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.

Authored by on June 20, 2011

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 Unfortunately, these “pro-testers” are only too willing to ignore key facts and repeat outdated myths about the Test Ban Treaty.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…

Authored by on June 20, 2011

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…

Authored by on May 18, 2011

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…

Authored by on December 23, 2010

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…

Authored by on October 21, 2010

On Monday, October 15th, the United States and Russia submitted a joint draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly, which called for the swift entry-into-force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Marcie B. Ries, a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN General Assembly, told the First Committee of the General Assembly that: This draft resolution expresses the hope that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty will enter into force at an early date, recalls that both the Russian Federation and the United States have stopped the production of fissile materials for use in…

Authored by on September 24, 2010

The Associated Press reports on vocal international support for U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Advocates said approval by the U.S. Senate, in particular, would encourage some of the other eight governments whose ratification is required to bring the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force, to outlaw all nuclear test explosions. "I believe the national security interests of the United States are enhanced by ratification of the CTBT," Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters after chairing the two-hour meeting to promote the treaty on…

Authored by on September 24, 2010

At the fifth biennial ministerial meeting in support of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivered a passionate statement in support of the CTBT. Nuclear testing has left a legacy of devastated and uninhabitable landscapes and lasting health and economic effects on local and downwind populations. More troubling, nuclear testing has still not been consigned to history. Two tests have been conducted in the past five years. Until we have universal adherence to a legally-binding global norm against nuclear testing, there is no guarantee that nuclear…