NATO is in the throes of a review of its deterrence and defence posture. BASIC and ICDS organised a roundtable on NATO’s nuclear deterrence policy in Tallinn on 15th March.
Analysis
Next steps in nuclear negotiations: briefing on Capitol Hill
BASIC held a small, private briefing for Hill staff and non-proliferation experts on March 31, 2011. The meeting covered: negotiating with Russia on next steps in nuclear arms control after New START, the prospects for bringing into force the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the capabilities associated with the CTBT to monitor test explosions.
Visions for a New Century
Just Launched! Visions for a New Century is a short film taken at a BASIC event hosted at Brian Eno’s studio last year. Visions for a New Century is a collection of interviews around the issue of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Interviewees include Peter Gabriel, Rory Bremner, Des Browne, Joe Cirincione from the Ploughshares Fund, Baroness Shirley Williams and Brian Eno.
This Week – Next steps for arms control
It’s a busy week for nuclear non-proliferation advocates. On Thursday, BASIC is hosting a joint briefing with VERTIC (Verification Research, Training and Information Centre) in Washington on the Next Steps after New START with a particular focus on the global nuclear test ban treaty.
NATO’s Nuclear Deterrence Posture and Baltic Security
BASIC and the International Centre for Defence Studies convened a roundtable on 15th March 2011 in Tallinn, Estonia to discuss the dimensions of involved in NATO’s deterrence and defence posture review. The current reality is that the risk of nuclear war has evaporated and Russia is a partner; yet there remain strong suspicions of Russia’s intentions, the commitment to nuclear deterrence remains universal amongst NATO’s members, and the Strategic Concept implies continued commitment to the deployment of US theater nuclear weapons (TNWs) in Europe.
Getting to Zero Update
Russia and the United States have begun the exchange of information on their nuclear arsenals under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty as they assess next steps on arms control and also try to resolve their differences over missile defense.
Missile defense and relations with Russia
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Moscow this week to meet with Russian officials and missile defense will be high on the agenda. NATO leaders agreed at the November summit to work together on missile defense against a possible future threat from the Middle East. NATO also agreed to consider cooperation with Russia.
This Week – NATO’s nuclear posture and Baltic security
BASIC held a joint workshop with Tallinn-based International Centre for Defence Studies on NATO’s Nuclear Deterrence Posture and Baltic Security on Tuesday 15th March, one of a series of roundtables around Europe to focus on Alliance nuclear posture in the context of the new Strategic Concept and the review of deterrence and review currently under way. Nuclear posture was a source of significant internal wrangling in the run-up to the NATO summit in November last year, and differences remain.