This month is witnessing a flurry of conferences on nuclear disarmament. Global Zero has a ‘summit’ conference in London on Wednesday and Thursday this week, to educate and energize in support of abolishing nuclear weapons. It coincides with the UK launch of ‘Countdown to Zero’
Analysis
Roundtable on NATO’s Nuclear Posture and Burden Sharing Arrangements: an Italian Perspective
BASIC held a roundtable in Rome on June 15, 2011 in cooperation with the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). The roundtable explored Italian perspectives on the future of NATO\’s nuclear posture and burden sharing. It also looked at Italy\’s position on the current debate about tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) in Europe.
The main points raised at the roundtable were as follows:
APRIL 2011
BASIC held the fourth of its roundtables this last 12 months, on NATO’s nuclear policy, under the grant from the Hewlett Foundation on April 28th. This time it was in non-NATO Helsinki, in collaboration with the Peace Union of Finland and the Foreign Ministry. Gathering participants from Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Netherlands and Britain, we discussed the deterrence review, relations with Russia and the prospects for NATO contributing more actively to the agenda of global nuclear disarmament.
UK launch of Countdown to Zero
UK Premiere of Countdown to Zero
From the makers of An Inconvenient Truth, comes a film about our nuclear threat. Get ready for the most important film of the year and join audiences across the UK and Ireland taking part in Demand Zero Day, June 21st.
Paul Ingram reports from Tehran
I’m in Tehran for BASIC in the middle of the second annual two day international conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation laid on by IPIS, the Foreign Ministry’s think tank.
Iran Update: Number 151
- Iran pronounces strong commitment to nuclear program after IAEA releases latest critical report
- Major diplomatic maneuvers remained stalled
- Western countries continue to tighten sanctions
- BASIC at Iran’s second international nuclear disarmament conference, June 12-13
NATO deterrence and defense, and divisions over tactical nuclear weapons, June 8-9 Brussels
Officials have increasingly become concerned that disagreements over U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in Europe could seriously harm Alliance unity, as NATO defense ministers prepare to meet this week. Although not the main issue for discussion at the meeting in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday, tactical nuclear weapons are up for consideration as part of NATO’s ongoing Deterrence and Defense Posture Review (DDPR).
Getting to Zero Update
NATO proceeded quietly with its Strategic Deterrence and Defense Posture Review, while U.S. and Russian disagreements over missile defense continued. The United States was also conducting a review of nuclear targeting. In the United Kingdom, the “successor” to the Vanguard-class submarine that carries Trident missiles officially entered “Initial Gate,” or the initial design phase.